Delhi High Court rejects Congress petitions against tax reassessment proceedings

The Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed four fresh petitions moved by Indian National Congress (INC) to challenge the Income Tax (IT) reassessment proceedings initiated against it by IT Department. .A division bench of Justices Yashwant Varma and Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav rejected the petitions after both the Congress as well as the IT Department agreed that the latest petitions stand covered by the judgment recently pronounced by the Court with regard to certain other assessment years. The Court had on March 22 dismissed the petitions filed by Congress to challenge the re-assessment proceedings for assessment years 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17. The latest four petitions for other assessment years in relation to which IT Department has initiated fresh scrutiny, were dismissed by the Court on similar terms today.They concerned the assessment years 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21.Congress, which has been facing multiple tax-related proceedings in recent weeks, has accused the Union government of attempting to financially "cripple" it ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.The political party has received back-to-back dismissals from the courts against its challenge to the proceedings initiated by the IT Department. .On March 22, the Court, while rejecting the petitions filed by Congress in relation to the years 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17, had remarked that the IT Department prima facie had “substantial and concrete evidence” to further scrutinise the political party's income under the IT Act..Similarly, the Court on March 13 rejected a plea filed by the 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 ₹105 crore in outstanding taxes.The Bench of Justices Yashwant Varma and Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav had said there was no reason to interfere with the ITAT order.However, the Court had allowed Congress to move a fresh application for a stay before the ITAT, bearing in mind the developments that have occurred in the meanwhile including the recovery of an amount of ₹65.94 crore from the party.