Demonetisation: Revenue Secretary says he was misquoted on exemptions for political parties
Hasmukh Adhia had been cited as saying that these outfits would not face income tax scrutiny for deposits made after the currency ban.
Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia on Sunday said he was misquoted in news reports that cited him as saying political parties would not come under the Income Tax radar for deposits they made after demonetisation, with some riders applying. “I never said that political parties are exempt from any scrutiny of deposits of old 500 and 1,000 rupee notes,” Adhia said in an email.
He had also stated this is a series of tweets on Saturday.
1/6 All reports on the alleged Privilege to political parties are false & misleading.
— Dr Hasmukh Adhia (@adhia03) December 17, 2016
2/6 Political parties have not been granted any exemption or privilege, post demonetisation & introduction of Taxation Amend. Act, 2016.
— Dr Hasmukh Adhia (@adhia03) December 17, 2016
3/6 Income & Donations of political parties fall in the purview of Sec 13A of the Income Tax Act 1961 & there is no change in its provision
— Dr Hasmukh Adhia (@adhia03) December 17, 2016
4/6 This is a provision of Law which is more than 35 years old and no change is made in that now.
— Dr Hasmukh Adhia (@adhia03) December 17, 2016
On Saturday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, too, had denied the reports and said, “They enjoy no immunity whatsoever...There is no question of sparing anyone, and the political class is no exception.” He had also emphasised that the political outfits were not allowed to accept the scrapped high-value bills as donations.
According to a report by PTI on Friday, the exemption provision under Section 13A of the Income Tax Act provides relief to political parties on the condition that they have been regular in filing their income tax returns annually. Jaitley, however, clarified that if the outfits fail to provide a satisfactory explanation for the source of their income or any entry in their account books made before November, they are as liable to be questioned by I-T authorities as anyone else.
The Narendra Modi government has come under fire for its demonetisation drive, launched on November 8. The prime minister had announced that Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, which had accounted for 86% of the currency in circulation in the country, would no longer be legal tender. The move was an attempt to weed out black money and corruption from India.
