IT appellate body lets Congress use bank accounts hours after party announces they were frozen

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal on Friday allowed the Congress to operate its bank accounts hours after the party said that the Income Tax department had frozen them.

The Congress, however, said that the tribunal has ordered it to maintain Rs 115 crore as lien in its bank accounts, which means that the funds are frozen. A lien amount refers to an amount of money that is put on hold in a bank account on the suspicion of illegal activities.

“This Rs 115 crores is much more than we have in our Current Accounts,” party treasurer Ajay Maken said.

The accounts were frozen on an Income Tax demand of Rs 210 crore for the financial year 2018-’19, Congress treasurer Ajay Maken had said. He claimed that in the election year of 2018-’19, the Congress had submitted its accounts 45 days late, but freezing them is an extreme measure.

In a video message on social media, Congress leader and senior advocate Vivek Tankha said that he appeared before the Income Tax appellate authority’s Delhi bench following which the party was granted temporary relief.

“We have filed our returns on time, it is being misconstrued and only for that reason we can’t be punished disproportionately,” Tankha said. “Very graciously, the ITAT [Income Tax Appellate Tribunal] has...

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