I-T notice to AAP: No political vendetta, it’s routine, says dept

New Delhi: The Narendra Modi-led Central Government has given a grand welcome to Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister-designate of Delhi, by serving an Income Tax (I-T) notice to the Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday. Even before AAP’s victory celebration could get over, the I-T department knocked at their doors with a notice to initiate investigation regarding the cheques worth Rs 2 crore that the party had received as donation. A similar notice has also been served to the All India Congress Committee (AICC) inquiring about a cheque of Rs 10 lakh. [caption id=“attachment_2093841” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Arvind Kejriwal after his Delhi poll victory. PTI[/caption] Can the timing of the I-T notice to the AAP be considered an act of political vendetta, especially after it handed the BJP its worst defeat in recent times? The I-T department would like to differ. “It’s a routine investigation without having any political implication. The notice was issued on 9 February and it reached both the AAP and the Congress today (11 February). The I-T department is inquiring about the kind of transaction the AAP has with the said companies, which deposited the money in the party’s account,” a government source claimed. As per the notice issued by the I-T department, a copy of which Firstpost has accessed, “Income Tax Department had initiated investigation into issuance of cheques by companies which are acting as entry operators to convert illegal cash into legitimate money… In these cases, the unaccounted income was sought to be converted into legitimate money with the help of non-genuine companies which were acting as entry operators.” In response to the said notice, the AAP leader and spokesperson Ashutosh told Firstpost, “We’ll cooperate and welcome investigation. Truth should be out.” Meanwhile, AAP already had demanded an SIT probe on funding to all political parties. “The BJP never anticipated that they would get washed away completely in this election tsunami. Rather they were expecting to form government and it would have been an excellent opportunity for them to crush AAP. But God had some different plan reserved for the BJP, which everyone witnessed yesterday,” quipped an AAP member. The I-T department, under the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) of the Ministry of Finance, has asked the party to furnish its reply by 16 February — two days after Arvind Kejriwal is scheduled to take oath as Delhi chief minister. In the run-up to the elections, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had alleged that the AAP was caught red-handed in receiving dubious funds from companies that did not have any business, and accused its leadership of adopting diversionary tactics to deflect attention. Jaitley had alleged that such donations amounted to Rs 2 crore through cheques of Rs 50 lakh each from four firms was received by the AAP through a midnight transaction. Refuting the allegation, Kejriwal had tweeted: “Mr Finance Minister. Stop throwing muck. Act. Arrest me if i am guilty.” “Fin min says we took hawala money. Hawala money in cheques? I dare Fin min to arrest me if we took hawala money,” Kejriwal had Tweeted. While, the election campaigning was on full swing, Kejriwal had written to Chief Justice of India HL Dattu and urged him to set up a special probe team to investigate not just his party, but also the BJP and the Congress for the Delhi elections. The issue snow-balled into a political blame-game. The Congress party has also admitted of having received a similar notice from the tax department. “Yes, we have received the I-T notice. It is clearly a sign of political vendetta. Why no notice has been served on BJP, which has spent huge amount in campaigning? And, why only to the Congress and the AAP?” an AICC spokesperson questioned. A week prior to the polling in Delhi, the AAP Volunteer Action Manch (AVAM), a splinter group of AAP, had questioned the sources of funding in AAP and had alleged that some of it could be sourced to what it described as ‘fraud’ companies. It had claimed that the fund of Rs 2 crore “was donated by four companies on the midnight of April 15, 2014”. The four companies were - Infolance Software Solution Ltd, Goldmine Buildcon Private Ltd, Skyline Metal and Alloys Pvt. Ltd, and Sunvision Agencies Pvt Ltd. The I-T department in a statement has said, “Inquiry was initiated in Delhi into issuance of cheques by companies which were alleged to be non-genuine and entry operators. The companies and their Directors could not be traced at the addresses given to Banks and Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Examination of the accounts of these companies revealed that they have issued accommodation entries to several persons and entities for substantial amounts. It was also found that sources for such entries were prima facie not genuine. To carry forward the investigation process, notices were issued to about 50 persons and entities including two political parties. These notices seek information about the identity of the contributors and other relevant details which are necessary to complete the process of investigation.” An AAP leader said, “Despite not being under any obligation, we post details of every donation we receive, which are through cheques and drafts to maintain a transparency in all our transactions. Do other political parties adopt this system? No.”