Delhi High Court Dismisses Congress Party’s Pleas Against Tax Re-Assessment Proceedings

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed the Congress party’s pleas challenging the Income Tax Department’s reassessment proceedings. The bench comprising Justices Yashwant Varma and Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav delivered the verdict, stating, “We dismiss the writ petitions,” with a detailed order yet to be issued.

The court had reserved its decision on March 20 after the Congress party filed pleas against the tax reassessment for the years 2014-15, 2015-16, and 2016-17, arguing that they were time-barred. Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing the party, contended that the proceedings exceeded the statutory limitation of six assessment years.

Contrary to this, the Income Tax Department maintained that no statutory provisions were violated, asserting that the party’s “escaped” income amounted to over ₹520 crore based on recovered material.

Previously, the High Court declined to intervene in the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal’s decision not to stay a notice for the recovery of over ₹100 crore in outstanding tax from the Congress. This tax demand was raised for the assessment year 2018-19, where the income was assessed to be over ₹199 crore.