NEW DELHI: The
Income Tax department
informed the Supreme Court on Monday that it will refrain from taking any 'coercive action' against the Congress regarding tax demand notices amounting to approximately Rs 3,500 crore, ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the I-T department, assured the court that no immediate actions will be taken until the matter is finally settled.
Justices B V Nagarathna and Augustine George Masih recorded Mehta's statement and scheduled the Congress' plea against the tax demand notices for July.
Clarifying the I-T department's stance, Mehta said, "I want to make a statement in this matter. The Congress is a political party and since elections are going on, we are not going to take any coercive action against the party."
He emphasized that the department refrains from expressing any opinion on the merit of the issue and maintains that all rights and contentions should remain open for discussion.
In response, senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing the Congress, appreciated the department's decision, describing it as "gracious." Singhvi disclosed that the tax demand notices, totaling approximately Rs 3,500 crore, were issued to the Congress in March and earlier years.
The Congress revealed that it had recently received fresh notices from the Income Tax department, demanding Rs 1,745 crore for the assessment years 2014-15 to 2016-17, bringing the total demand to Rs 3,567 crore.
Following the rejection of its petition by the Delhi high court challenging reassessment proceedings spanning four assessment years, the financial pressure on the Congress party had mounted ahead of Lok Sabha elections.
Additionally, the party disclosed that it had received notices on Friday, requiring payment of around Rs 1,823 crore. Previously, the tax authorities had withdrawn Rs 135 crore from the party's accounts to settle a tax demand related to previous years.
In response to the notices, Congress had accused the BJP for engaging in "tax terrorism" with the aim of financially crippling the opposition in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections.
(With agency inputs)
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