Income Tax Appellate Tribunal Denies Congress Plea for Stay on Bank Account Freeze

A few days ago, the Income Tax Department froze four bank accounts belonging to Congress and Youth Congress, seeking a recovery of Rs 210 crore. Congress appealed to the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) against this action. However, ITAT has rejected the party's petition for a stay on the recovery and freezing of their bank accounts.

What was the demand of Congress?
Senior advocate Vivek Tankha represented the Congress, seeking a 10-day stay on the order to allow time to approach the High Court. The bench, however, rejected the plea, citing the absence of such a provision.

The Congress expressed concern over the order, with leader Ajay Maken condemning the freezing of Congress funds by the IT tribunal as an assault on democracy. Maken questioned the timing of the order, issued just before the Lok Sabha elections.

The issue at hand relates to the Income Tax Return for 2018-2019. The Income Tax Department is pursuing a penalty of Rs 210 crore from the Congress. In addition, 2018-19 was an election year during which the Congress spent Rs 199 crore. Out of this amount, Rs 14 lakh 40 thousand was contributed by Congress MPs and MLAs from their salaries, which were paid in cash. Consequently, the Income Tax Department has levied a penalty of Rs 210 crore on the Congress.