SHAKEEL AKHTER
Ranchi, Sept 15: The Aam Janmat Party (AJP) was involved in tax evasion under the guise of political donations, allegedly creating fake accounts showing an expenditure of ₹700 crore. This came to light during an investigation by the Jharkhand Income Tax (Research) Department. The political party has no documentation to substantiate the expenses reflected in its accounts.
During raids at AJP offices in Gujarat, seized documents revealed evidence of this fabricated expenditure. The investigation found that ₹2,000 crore, contributed by young professionals near the Jharkhand–Bihar–Nepal border, was falsely recorded as political donations in the party’s accounts, of which ₹700 crore was shown as spent on political programs.
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Fabricated Political Programs and Nonexistent Vendors
The party’s records indicated expenses on protests, rallies, marches, political meetings, and election campaigns. These included costs for tents, vehicle rentals, and food for participants. However, the tents, microphones, and other materials were allegedly rented from institutions that did not exist. In other words, all expense documents were fabricated merely to fill the books.
The investigation also found that there were no bills for any rentals or payments. The GSTN numbers of the nonexistent institutions from which materials were supposedly procured were also not mentioned.
Moreover, cash payments made to these institutions for political expenses were not subject to TDS deduction, despite the legal requirement to deduct TDS and deposit it with the government treasury.
Commission Scheme and Admission by Party Officials
It was discovered that the AJP deducted a 5% commission from the funds received from young professionals and prepared fake documents showing that the remaining money had been spent on political programs.
During questioning, party officials admitted to taking donations from the young professionals, deducting the 5% commission, and returning the remainder. They also acknowledged that the amounts recorded as political expenses were actually returned to the young professionals through various channels.
Based on interviews and documents recovered during raids, the investigation concluded that the party was registered solely for the purpose of tax evasion. There was no evidence of the party organizing any political programs.
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Purposeful Misuse and Tax Evasion
The party was found to have misused Sections 80GGB/80GGC of the Income Tax Act, 1961, to help young professionals evade taxes.
Interestingly, during questioning, a young professional initially praised the AJP, noting the party’s public welfare activities and saying he had donated a large portion of his income to the party. However, he later admitted that the money had actually been given in order to save income tax, with the party deducting its commission and returning the rest.
