Won't recover Rs 1,700 crore from Congress during Lok Sabha polls: I-T dept to SC

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The Income Tax deparment on Monday told the Supreme Court that it won't take any steps to recover Rs 1,700 crore from Congress until after the Lok Sabha elections, Bar & Bench reported.

"There is no problem to any political party," Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the tax department, told the apex court.

The court was hearing a plea by Congress against the demand of Rs 1,700 crore from the tax department.

The bench took on record the deparment's submission that no coercive steps will be taken against the Congress.

The grand old party has been lashing out at the Centre over the tax notices before the general election, accusing PM Modi of "crippling it financially".

The party has received multiple notices from the I-T department, with the total demand rising to over Rs 3,500 crore.

The Rs 1,700 crore demand includes both penalty and interest for the assessment years 2017-18 to 2020-21.

The tax department has collected Rs 135 crore from Congress’ bank accounts in Delhi to cover tax arrears and interests for the assessment year 2018-19, during which the party was denied exemption due to failure to meet specified conditions.

During a rare joint press conference held at the AICC headquarters, Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi said that the accounts frozen by the government have not only affected the Indian National Congress but have also impacted democracy most fundamentally.