Income Tax tribunal dismisses Congress plea to stay action against its bank accounts

In a major setback to the Congress party ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) on Friday rejected the party’s plea against the Income Tax Department’s action against its bank accounts.

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal on Friday dismissed Congress's plea seeking a stay on the Income Tax department's action on their bank accounts. Senior Advocate Vivek Tankha, representing Congress, had requested a 10-day suspension of the order to allow the Indian National Congress to approach the High Court. The bench, however, turned down the request, stating that no such provision or plea had been presented to them.

The stay request was in response to a demand for Rs 210 crore made by the Income Tax Department in relation to the 2018–19 income tax return. Particularly with the general elections approaching, the Congress had maintained that placing a lien on the bank account would financially bankrupt the political party.

The Congress said on February 16 that the Income Tax Department had blocked Rs 115 crore in its bank accounts after requesting Rs 210 crore in taxes and penalties for the 2018–19 fiscal year, which coincided with an election year.

The Congress on Wednesday appealed before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) alleging that the tax department "undemocratically" withdrew a sum of Rs 65 crore from its accounts in different banks. The Congress's primary financial accounts were blocked on February 16. They were eventually permitted to use bank accounts while awaiting more proceedings by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal.