Delhi High Court: The Division Bench of Yashwant Varma and Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, JJ., dismissed a plea by the Indian National Congress party (‘Congress’), challenging an order of the Income Tax department regarding tax reassessment proceedings for four years, i.e., from 2017 to 2021.
Senior Advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Congress, had argued that the tax reassessment proceedings were time-barred, with the Income Tax department being limited to revisiting assessments for a maximum of six years.
On March 22, this Court dismissed a petition filed by Congress against the tax reassessment proceedings initiated against it by the authorities for three successive years, i.e., 2014-2015, 2015-2016, and 2016-2017. Similarly, the Court on March 13, rejected a plea filed by Congress against an order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) rejecting its plea for stay on the demand notice issued by IT department for recovery of nearly Rs 105 crore in outstanding taxes.
The Court stated that Congress had delayed its challenge until the brink of the deadline for assessment completion, hinting at a strategic postponement. The Court observed that the income tax authorities had gathered “substantial and concrete evidence” that justified a deeper examination of Congress’s income and financial declarations under the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
[Indian National Congress v. Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax]
Source: Press
