I-T tribunal junks Cong plea to stop action against bank accounts

New Delhi: The Income-Tax Appellate Tribunal on Friday dismissed the Congress party’s appeal against imposition of penalty for discrepancies in tax returns for previous years and said it was exploring all legal options and will move the high court against it very soon.

Sources said the tribunal had dismissed the appeal of the Congress for imposition of penalties of Rs 210 crore by the Income Tax department here on Friday.

Congress treasurer Ajay Maken said the party is exploring all legal options and would move the high court “very soon”. “The BJP government has deliberately chosen the timing of this to coincide with national elections,” Maken said. He said the I-T tribunal order freezing Congress’s funds is “an attack on democracy” as it has come just ahead of national elections and has left the principal opposition party without funds to contest elections “How can one expect fair elections in such a situation when funds to the tune of Rs 270 crore have been freezed or taken away by the Income Tax authorities from Congress party’s accounts,” he asked.

Maken claimed that the party is now left with “negligible” funds to spend during Lok Sabha elections or for its day-to-day functioning. He claimed that the BJP or any other national political party has never in the history of the country paid any income tax penalty.