Congress Cries Foul As I-T Dept Starts Recovery Ahead Of Hearing In Bank Accounts Freezing Case

The Income Tax Department on Tuesday recovered Rs 65 crore from the account of the Congress out of the total outstanding tax dues of Rs 115 crore.

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh.

Source : @Jairam_Ramesh

The Income Tax Department on Tuesday recovered Rs 65 crore from the account of the Congress out of the total outstanding tax dues of Rs 115 crore, as reported by news agency ANI, citing sources. Following the recovery, Congress approached the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) on Wednesday and filed a complaint. This comes ahead of the hearing in the accounts freeze case on Wednesday. 

Income Tax Department yesterday recovered Rs 65 crore from the account of the Indian National Congress out of the total outstanding tax dues of Rs 115 crore. The Congress party has today approached the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) against the recovery and has filed a…

— ANI (@ANI) February 21, 2024

In the complaint, the grand old party stated that the Income Tax Department has enforced its lein by encashing some of the balances lying with the banks without waiting for the outcome of the hearing scheduled before the bench.

Congress appealed that the department should not proceed further until the disposal of the stay application. ITAT has directed that the status quo be maintained until the matter is heard. The matter has been listed for 2:30 pm today, ANI reported.

Congress treasurer Ajay Maken has claimed that "democracy will be over in the country if the action of probe agencies goes unchecked," as reported by PTI. He further stated that the Congress has full faith in the judiciary.

"The I-T department had written to various banks to withdraw a sum of Rs 65 crore from different bank accounts of the Congress and Indian Youth Congress in view of the demand raised by the Income Tax authorities earlier, despite the appellate authorities hearing the case," Maken told PTI.

The Congress leader said even when the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, which the party had moved against the Income Tax department's claim of Rs 210 crore as recovery for "discrepancies" in previous tax returns has been stayed and a lien has been marked, the tax authorities have resorted to "undemocratic action" by taking out the amount from their accounts, PTI reported. He said the banks have been directed by the tax authorities to take out the money in the form of demand drafts in favour of the I-T department.