The Congress party was greatly relieved to hear in the Supreme Court today that the government will hold off on any attempts to collect the purported income tax arrears from the party until the conclusion of the imminent general elections.
The commitment was made by the Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta, before a panel presided over by Justice BV Nagarathna. The court has documented this promise in a provisional order issued today.
The court’s interim order reads, “Pending appeals have raised issues that remain unresolved. However, considering the current circumstances, the Income Tax Department has chosen not to escalate the situation and has stated that no forceful measures will be taken concerning the tax claim of approximately ₹3,500 crores. The case is scheduled for the second week of July.”
During the hearing of the Congress party’s challenge to the income tax claims, SG Mehta disclosed that the demands are based on a verdict from 2016. He further noted that the Congress party has settled approximately ₹134 crores of its tax obligations, with an additional demand of ₹1,700 crores being imposed based on pre-established criteria.
The government’s legal representative assured the court that any steps to recover the outstanding dues would be postponed until after the Lok Sabha elections. “In light of the ongoing elections, we will refrain from any recovery actions until the matter is revisited post-elections. We request the court to schedule this for the second week of June,” Mehta stated to the court.
This unexpected concession from the government elicited a reaction of astonishment from the Congress party’s legal team. Justice Nagarathna remarked, “One should not always hold a negative perception of others.” To which Senior Advocate AM Singvi, representing the Congress party, responded, “I am at a loss for words, which happens rarely.”
The Income Tax authorities have reiterated their stance, “No forceful recovery actions will be initiated until the electoral process has concluded. We are faced with a claim of ₹3,500 crores, but we will await the election results before proceedings.