Unrecognised parties raided over funding

New Delhi, September 7

Income Tax Department sleuths today conducted simultaneous raids in multiple states as part of a pan-India tax evasion probe against certain registered unrecognised political parties (RUPP) and their alleged dubious financial transactions, official sources said.

The officials confirmed that the raids were conducted at nearly 110 locations in several states, including Gujarat, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Haryana. The raiding teams of taxmen were being assisted by the police, they added.

A coordinated action has been launched by the department against some RUPPs, their promoters and linked entities to probe their income sources and expenditure, the officials said.

The surprise action is understood to have been taken by the department on a recent recommendation of the Election Commission of India (ECI), which recently struck off at least 198 entities from its RUPP list after they were found non-existent during physical verification.

The poll panel had announced that it was taking action against more than 2,100 entities, categorised as RUPP by it, for flouting rules and election laws, including those related to filing of monetary contributions, failing to update their address and names of office-bearers. It had said some of these parties were indulging in “serious” financial impropriety.

In a statement issued in June, the poll panel had said any RUPP aggrieved by the decision could approach the CEO concerned within 30 days along with all evidence of existence, year-wise annual audited accounts, contribution report, expenditure report and updated list of office-bearers. Sources in the poll panel had said there were specific details of several such parties which had flouted laws and rules on disclosure of funds and donations.

The EC had later also sent a reference to the Department of Revenue under the Union Finance Ministry for necessary legal and criminal action against three such parties involved in serious financial impropriety. Subsequently, the same was forwarded to the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the administrative body of the Tax Department.

I-T searches also at Centre for Policy Research, Oxfam

New Delhi: The Income Tax Department today conducted searches at the Delhi offices of think tank Centre for Policy Research, charity organisation Oxfam India and Bengaluru-based Independent and Public-Spirited Media Foundation that partly funds a number of anti-BJP digital media outlets, such as The Caravan and The Wire, and The Print and Swarajya.

Officials said these searches were part of the probe related to alleged Foreign Contribution Regulation Act violations. The tax teams studied the balance sheets of these organisations vis-a-vis receipt of funds through the FCRA route. All NGOs getting foreign funds must be registered under the FCRA. Registration of 1,900 NGOs have been cancelled for violating various provisions of the law in the last five years. There were 22,762 FCRA-registered organisations till December 2021. The CPR is known to examine government policies with a critical eye, while the IPSMF funds a number of media organisations, many of which conduct investigative stories that question the governments of the day.

The website of Oxfam India, which is part of a global consortium of NGOs under the Oxfam umbrella, says it “campaigns with the public to demand policy changes from governments for creating a just and inclusive country as envisioned in the Indian Constitution”. — TNS