New Delhi: In a major reprieve to the Congress, the Income Tax Department said it won’t take any coercive steps against the Congress to recover Rs 3,500 crore until the second week of June in view of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the Supreme Court on Monday. The matter will be heard next on July 24.
Notably, Congress had received notices from the Income Tax Department, seeking payment of tax dues amounting to Rs 3,567 crore and thereafter approached the Supreme Court, alleging the move as an attempt to choke it financially in the run-up to polls. The party has said this was disrupting the level-playing field for the polls and also urged the Election Commission to intervene.
Earlier, tax authorities withdrew a sum of Rs 135 crore from a party’s accounts for dues from previous years, according to NDTV.
On Monday, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a bench led by Justice BV Nagarathna that the central agency will not take coercive action against the Opposition party during polls.
“They were given an option to pay 20 per cent in 2024, ₹ 135 crore (was) recovered. ₹ 1,700 crore demand has been raised later. Therefore, the matter pertains to ₹ 1,700 subsequently raised. This whole matter can be fixed for post elections. We will not take any action till then,” he said.
When the court asked if the Centre is pausing the tax demand, Mehta replied, “No, we are just saying that we will not take any action till the election,” the report added.
Appearing for the Congress, Senior Advocate Abhishek Singhvi said the Centre has collected Rs 135 crore by attaching properties. “We are not a profit-making organisation, only a political party.”
The Solicitor General said he has much to say on the merits. The court noted that the issues arising in the appeals are yet to be adjudicated upon and that the matter will be heard on merits going forward, according to the report.
