Congress Hit with New Income Tax Demand: IT Department Seeks ₹3,567 Crore

The Congress party has been served fresh income tax notices totaling ₹1,745 crore for the assessment years 2014-15 to 2016-17, bringing the total notice amount to ₹3,567 crore. The notices, issued on Friday, come amidst allegations from the Congress of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) engaging in "tax terrorism" to weaken opposition parties ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, set to commence on April 19.

During a press conference on Friday, the Congress revealed the issuance of the new notices, adding to previous demands from the Income Tax department amounting to ₹1,823 crore for assessment years 1994-95 and 2017-18 to 2020-21. The party had previously contested the legitimacy of the Income-Tax department's search operations in the Delhi High Court on March 22, deeming them as "time-barred" and a result of delayed action.

With elections looming, the Congress has accused the BJP-led Centre of abusing governmental institutions such as the income-tax department, Enforcement Directorate (ED), and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to undermine democracy. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge questioned the government's motive behind using the income tax department as a tool to target the principal opposition party, citing substantial penalties imposed by the authorities.

Additionally, left parties, including the Communist Party of India (CPI) and Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI-M], found themselves entangled in similar tax-related issues. The CPI disclosed receiving a notice from the Income Tax department over an old PAN card, while the left parties collectively faced a tax recovery notice of ₹15.59 crore for failing to declare a bank account in their tax returns for 2016-17. Trinamool Congress leader Saket Gokhale also alleged receiving 11 income tax notices within the last 72 hours.