The Income Tax department on Tuesday sent a show-cause notice to the Aam Aadmi Party for allegedly fudging its account books and evading tax on donations received, PTI reported. The I-T department asked party convener Arvind Kejriwal and three others why they should not be prosecuted and sought a reply within the first half of this month.

According to the I-T department, the party had received around Rs 30 crores as donations in the financial year 2014-15, but did not account for around Rs 2 crores on their tax declaration, NDTV reported. The AAP’s audit report, filed before the Election Commission and the I-T department, was “false and fabricated”, the tax sleuths said after a year’s investigation. The department will soon file a complaint under I-T laws in a court for false statements in verification and a wilful attempt to evade tax. If convicted, Kejriwal and the others named in the chargesheet could face up to three years in jail and a fine. The party’s tax exemption benefits could also be withdrawn.

The show-cause notice came on a day marked by high drama for the party, with its Karawal MLA and former minister Kapil Mishra presenting “evidence” of the the party’s supposed corrupt activities to the Central Bureau of Investigation. Mishra had earlier accused Kejriwal and his ministers of irregularities in fund management and outright bribery, The Anti-Corruption Branch is already probing allegations, also levelled by Mishra, of illegal cash that was allegedly exchanged between the Delhi chief minister and Power Minister Satyendar Jain. Mishra has also accused the AAP leaders of using the ill-gotten wealth to go on trips abroad.

Earlier, the Centre had sought a reply from the AAP on funds received from abroad, to determine if the party had violated sections of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act.