After Congress, CPI gets I-T dept notice for Rs 11-crore dues: Sources

NEW DELHI: The Communist Party of India (CPI) has received a notice from the income-tax department, asking it to pay ''dues'' of Rs 11 crore for using an old PAN card while filing tax returns during the last few years, sources said on Friday.

They said the Left party is consulting its lawyers to challenge the notice of the tax authorities.

The sources said the ''dues'' to be paid to the I-T department include penalties and interest due to authorities for ''discrepancies'' in the use of an old PAN card by the party.

''We are seeking legal assistance and consulting our lawyers,'' a senior CPI leader told PTI.

The I-T department has also withdrawn the tax exemption of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) for the year 2016-17 and taxed the Left party Rs 15.59 crore for not declaring a bank account in its tax returns for the year.

The sources said the CPI(M) had received a notice under section 148A of the Income Tax Act for assessment year 2016-17 on the ground that it was maintaining a bank account but had not declared it in column 13(b) when it filed its tax returns.

However, the department passed an order under section 148A(d) of Act, rejecting the party's submission, and reopened the case by issuing a notice under section 148.

The CPI(M) has claimed that it had filed its income tax returns in compliance with the notice and submitted various submissions from time to time, and that not mentioning the bank account was an ''oversight'' on its part.

The Left party received a show-cause notice last year, proposing to disallow the claim of exemption made under section 13A of the Act. It had requested for extension of time, which was not granted.

The sources said the I-T department has passed a final order and levied a tax of Rs 15.59 crore on the CPI(M) for 2016-17.

They added that the CPI(M) has filed a writ petition against the order in the Delhi High Court and the matter is sub-judice. The court has issued a notice to the I-T department and directed it not to take any precipitate action, the sources said.

Earlier, the Congress said it has received I-T notices, asking the party to pay dues of more than Rs 1,823 crore for discrepancies in tax returns filed for previous years.

Trinamool Congress leader Saket Gokhale has also claimed that he has received 11 I-T notices in the last 72 hours.

The Congress has been alleging that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre is trying to ''cripple'' the opposition in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls.