I-T Department Assures No Coercive Action Against Congress On Tax Demand Till Polls Are Over
The matter will now come up for a hearing on July 24.
In a huge breather to the Indian National Congress, the Income Tax Department told the Supreme Court on Monday that it would not take any coercive action against the party to recover tax dues amounting to nearly Rs 3,500 crore till the next date of hearing.
Appearing for the IT department, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the department does not want to cause any problems to the party as the elections are just around the corner.
Mehta assured that the department would not take any action on the tax demand till the elections are over. However, he clarified that there is a lot to be said on merits in this case, but the department does not want to precipitate issues as of now.
The matter will now come up for a hearing on July 24.
On March 31, the Congress received fresh notices from the Income Tax department, raising a tax demand of Rs 1,745 crore for the assessment years 2014–15 to 2016–17.
With this latest notice, the total tax demand from the second largest national party in India rose to Rs 3,567 crore.
The party has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of indulging in "tax terrorism" and financially crippling the principal opposition party during the Lok Sabha election. The Congress has also complained to the Election Commission in this regard and urged it to maintain a level-playing field.
