Day after Rs 1,800 crore tax notice, Congress receives two more last night

A day after the income-tax department served notices to the Congress party, demanding a payment of Rs 1,823 crore over pending taxes, the party revealed that it had received two additional notices "last night".

During a press briefing on Saturday, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh informed journalists, "We received two more notices last night."

This development followed the issuance of fresh notices by the income-tax department on Friday, seeking a substantial sum of approximately Rs 1,823 crore from the party.

The sequence of events transpired hours after the Delhi High Court dismissed the party's appeals challenging tax reassessment proceedings.

The notices, pertaining to the assessment years 2017-18 and 2020-21, included penalties and accrued interest, exacerbating the financial challenges faced by the opposition stalwart.

Expressing dismay over these recent developments, the Congress criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing it of engaging in what it termed as "tax terrorism." The Congress alleged that these actions were aimed at undermining and financially crippling the party ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha elections.

Later in the day, the Congress accused the Income Tax Department of double standards, asserting that while it had been penalized for a violation worth Rs 14 lakh, the income tax authorities remained silent on a violation amounting to Rs 42 crore by the BJP. The Congress further claimed that violations by the ruling party at the Centre resulted in a penalty of Rs 4,600 crore.

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