Congress approaches Tribunal after I-T department seizes ₹65 crore from its bank accounts

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Congress party's appeal regarding the recovery of ₹65 crore from its bank accounts by the Income Tax (I-T) department. The total outstanding tax dues on the Congress party is ₹115 crore. Sources said that the I-T department on February 20 recovered ₹65 crore from the account of the Indian National Congress out of the total outstanding tax dues of ₹115 crore.

The Congress complaint before the Tribunal, according to the sources, said that the I-T department had 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. The Congress has appealed that the department should not proceed further till the disposal of the stay application, the sources said. The Tribunal has directed that the status quo be maintained till the matter is heard on February 21.

Last week, Congress leader and treasurer Ajay Maken alleged that the I-T department had frozen the four bank accounts of the party and the Youth Congress, and a demand of ₹210 crore has been raised in connection with the income tax return case of 2018-19. The I-T department, on its part, informed the Tribunal that it has not frozen the Congress’s bank accounts but only asked for a lien on the amount, according to an earlier demand. Later, another Congress leader Vivek Tankha said that the party's bank accounts were unfrozen by the IT Appellate Tribunal after the party filed an appeal.

The issue dates back to 2018-19 when the Congress filed the ITR late. Based on the assessment, a demand of ₹ 103 crore was raised. Payment delays resulted in increased interest.