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Our Correspondent / New Delhi
The Delhi High Court today rejected Congress president Rahul Gandhi and United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s plea challenging the Income Tax (I-T) notice seeking tax reassessment for the financial year 2011-2012.
A bench of Justice S. Ravindra Bhat and Justice A.K. Chawla said the petitions filed by the Gandhis have “failed.”
However, the court clarified that the Gandhis could use their rights as the assessee and take up their grievance with the Income Tax authorities.
The order of a bench came while it was hearing the plea of Rahul, Sonia Gandhi and her party colleague Oscar Fernandes against teh March I-T notice seeking tax reassessment. They have allegedly not disclosed their income earned through Young Indian Pvt Ltd (YI) for the year 2011-2012.
The I-T department has told the court that they have concealed facts for evading tax.
Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi are major stakeholders in Young Indian which has acquired Associated Journals Limited (AJL). National Herald newspaper was published by AJL.
“The reference to the monetary nature of the transaction i.e. fair market value, certified by the auditor, means that the promoters and shareholders of the company visualize that the shares of YI, a not-for-profit company, can increase, depending on its activities and income derived by it,” the court said.
The court noted that the I-T department has the power to reopen tax proceedings and that the petitioners can approach the department with their grievances.
The Congress president had challenged the I-T department’s authority to reopen his tax assessment related to the National Herald and Young India transactions.
The I-T department told the High Court that the All India Congress Committee had transferred funds to the tune of Rs 990 million to Associate Journal Ltd, adding that Rahul had willfully chosen to not disclose the fact that he held the director’s post at Young India.
However, Rahul’s legal counsel asserted that the Congress president did not receive any income from the source, and hence is not liable for any tax.
The National Herald scam is an ongoing case filed in 2012 by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy against Sonia, Rahul, their companies and associates. Swamy had accused them of allegedly conspiring to cheat and misappropriate funds by paying only Rs 50 lakh, by which Young Indian Pvt Ltd obtained the right to recover Rs 90.25 crore which AJL owed to the Congress.