Tax Tribunal Rejects Congress Appeal on ₹199 Crore Income Case

Fast Summary

• the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) on July 22, 2025, rejected the Indian National Congress’ appeal against an income tax demand of ₹199.15 crore.
• The ITAT stated that the Congress missed the deadline for filing its income tax return for the financial year 2017-18, which was December 31, 2018; instead, it filed on February 2, 2019.
• Consequently of the delay in submission and other violations (like cash donations exceeding ₹2,000 per individual), exemptions under Section 13A were denied.
• A total taxable amount of ₹199.15 crore was assessed due to non-compliance with conditions tied to political party exemptions provided by law.
• The assessing officer noted that cash donations worth ₹14.49 lakh exceeded permissible limits as per Finance Act guidelines introduced in 2017.
• Previously declared nil income by Congress for this fiscal year was not accepted by authorities following scrutiny.

indian Opinion Analysis
The rejection of exemption and assessment placing ₹199.15 Crore being treated as taxable imposes