I-T Recovers Rs 50 Crore From Congress After Delhi High Court Dismisses Party's Plea To Stay Tax Recovery

Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed the Congress” urgent plea for an interim stay on the tax recovery order of purported Rs 130 crore overdue taxes on the party by the Income Tax department. The High Court while refusing to quash the Income Tax order observed that the tax tribunal had correctly applied the legal position before it.

Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) had earlier rejected Congress’s plea to stop action against its bank accounts to the party. The party’s four bank accounts were frozen by the department last month. However, as the High Court denied the Congress petition yesterday (March 13), the Congress suffered another blow, according to the Congress lawyer Vivek Tankha. In a fresh move, the Income Tax department recovered Rs 51 crore from the bank accounts of the Congress party, giving a twin blow to the party ahead of the imminent Lok Sabha elections. Mr Tankha then added that the only option for the party now is to approach the Supreme Court, suggesting that it would move to the Court on Thursday itself.

“By Wednesday evening, within hours of the High Court order, the Income recovered ₹51 cr from the Congress Party”s accounts. It would have taken away another ₹20 cr but couldn”t due to server failure. The I-T recovery soon after HC order is against the order, asking us to further pursue the matter in the Supreme Court or the Income-Tax Appellate Tribunal,” the Congress layer said.

According to Mr Tankha, the High Court while dismissing the Congress plea gave two options, one to approach the Supreme Court and the other to go to the income tax tribunal for the second time, Economic Times reported, quoting Vivek Tankha. “We don”t know whether by tomorrow (Thursday) morning the remaining amount too would be recovered from our accounts,” added the Congress layer alleging that this is a clear case of financial crumbling of the main opposition party as it prepares for the Lok Sabha elections.

The IT department had earlier recovered around Rs 65 crore from the Congress party’s accounts over the alleged 130 tax overdue. Yesterday marks another Rs 51 crore recovery from the Congress party.