Congress moves Delhi High Court in tax penalty case

Congress challenges ITAT dismissal of plea for tax return penalties in Delhi High Court, funds frozen.

The Congress moved the Delhi High Court on March 11 against the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) order rejecting its plea seeking a stay on the recovery of outstanding tax for the assessment year 2018-19.

The matter was mentioned by senior advocate Vivek Tankha before a bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela. Mr. Tankha said it was an urgent matter as the accounts of the political party have been frozen. Acting Chief Justice Manmohan agreed to list the case for hearing during the day if the petition is in order.

Also read: Scuttling opposition: On Income-Tax department action against the Congress

Last week, the ITAT dismissed the Congress' appeal against the imposition of penalties for discrepancies in tax returns for previous years. The party has earlier said the I-T tribunal order freezing its funds was "an attack on democracy" as it had come ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

According to sources, the tribunal had dismissed the Congress' appeal against the imposition of penalties amounting to ₹210 crore by the Income Tax department.

(With inputs from PTI)