The Congress party has faced fresh challenges from the Income Tax Department with notices amounting to Rs 1,745 crore for the assessment years spanning from 2014-15 to 2016-17. This new development adds to the total demand raised by the department, now totaling Rs 3,567 crore, covering assessment years from 1994-95 to 2020-21.
The latest notices come in the wake of Congress leader Jairam Ramesh's announcement of receiving "two more notices" the previous night, reiterating the party's claim of being targeted by what it describes as "tax terrorism."
Sources have revealed that the fresh notices pertain to the years 2014-15 (Rs 663 crore), 2015-16 (approximately Rs 664 crore), and 2016-17 (around Rs 417 crore). These notices indicate that the tax exemption typically enjoyed by political parties has been discontinued, resulting in taxation on the entirety of the party's collections.
Furthermore, the party has been taxed for what are described as "third-party entries" found in diaries seized from some of its leaders during raids conducted by investigative agencies.
Earlier, the Congress had disclosed receiving tax notices totaling Rs 1,823 crore for the assessment years 2017-18 and 2020-21, alongside penalties and interest. This came after the Delhi High Court dismissed four petitions filed by the party challenging the initiation of Income Tax reassessment proceedings against it for the years 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21.
Responding to these developments, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi criticized the BJP, warning that action would be taken against those "who have disrobed democracy" once the government changes. He pledged to take exemplary action to deter such actions in the future.
