The Income Tax Department has for the first time brought Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the picture in the National Herald case. In its Income Tax Assessment Order for Young Indian — the Gandhi family-controlled company — the department has sought to point out that besides Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka had a key role in the firm acquiring assets worth Rs 2,000 crore of Associated Journals limited (AJl) that publishes the National Herald newspaper.

The department has termed as “totally bogus” the Congress’ claim of giving a Rs 90-crore loan to the AJl and described the latter’s takeover by Young Indian as “premeditated scheme of tax evasion”, fraudulent, and hawala in nature.

“To fulfil the objective of acquiring 100 per cent shares of the AJl, one of the majority shareholders of the assessee (Young Indian), Rahul, along with Priyanka Gandhi Vadhera, had purchased additional 47,513 and 2,62,411 shares through Rattan Deep Trust and Janhit Nidhi Trust respectively without complying to Companies Act,” said the IT department.

In its 105-page Assessment Order, the IT department has also declared Young Indian’s actual taxable income to be more than Rs 414 crore and has since gone on to cancel the firm’s tax exemption certificate.

The department has stated that the AICC office bearers and Young Indian shareholders devised a scheme involving pre-ordinate artificial and fraudulent steps to take over AJl with a two-fold objective: One to obtain valuable benefits embodied in business assets of the AJl; and second, not to pay any tax on business income of earning such benefit.  It pegged the fair market value of AJl’s properties in New Delhi, Mumbai, Panchkula, lucknow and Patna to be Rs 2,000 crore.

The Assessment Order dated December 27 served to the Young Indian was produced by main petitioner in the National Herald case, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, before the Metropolitan Magistrate to prove that his complaints against all the accused were totally ratified by the IT department.

 “During the course of assessment proceedings, many opportunities were allowed to the assessee (Young Indian) as well as the representatives of the AICC to prove the date and mode of transfer of loan amounting to Rs 90.21 crore to the AJl,” said the IT department, adding Congress leaders, including Treasurer Motilal Vora, did not-cooperate and raised objections several times. The IT department also produced Vora’s letters accusing the Assessing Officer of political bias for seeking the details of the Rs 90 crore loan claim to National Herald.

 “As early as in the beginning of the year 2008 it was decided to close down the business of printing and publishing newspaper by the AJl with the oblique purpose to make commercial use of the business assets of the AJl (commercial property located in posh areas of Delhi, Patna, Panchkula, Mumbai, lucknow) acquired by it from the Central/State Governments for publishing newspaper at ridiculously low price.

“Important office bearers of the AICC namely Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernadez and AJl controlled by Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernadez have devised the scheme involving pre-ordinate artificial and fraudulent steps to take over AJl. The objective of the scheme was two-fold, one to obtain valuable benefits embodied in business assets of the AJl and not to pay any tax on business income of earning such benefit. 

“The scheme has included a fraudulent transaction involving purchases of a non-existent loan of Rs 90.21 crore by AICC to AJl for a paltry sum of Rs 50 lakh by the assessee (Young Indian) company,” the order stated.

The order also said Young Indian receiving Rs one crore from a Kolkata-based company Doltex is nothing but hawala transaction.

“The competent authority after making enquiry has held that the assessee company (Young Indian) had not carried out any activity in accordance with its charitable object and has cancelled the tax exemption enjoyed by the assessee company  by passing an order under section 12AA(3) of the Act on December 26, 2017. In view of the above, the business income of the Rs 413,40,55,980 earned by the assessee (Young Indian) during year under consideration was not subject to tax exemption,” it said.

The Assessment Order said 44 opportunities spanning 890 days were given to Congress leaders and Young Indian company to prove their claims.

National Herald’s publication was stopped in 2008 and the publishing company AJl was taken over by Young Indian in December 2010. Sonia and Rahul have 38 per cent shares each in the newly-floated Young Indian while Gandhi family’s trusted Congress leaders Motilal Vora and Oscar Fernadez have 12 per cent shares each. The family’s close aides Sam Pitroda and Suman Dubey are also the directors and first promoters of Young Indian.

In the case filed by Swamy, all these six persons and Young Indian are accused and currently out on bail since December 2015. Swamy had approached the Metropolitan Magistrate’s court in 2013 and taking cognisance of the offence, the court had summoned the Congress leaders. Though the Congress leadership went to the Delhi High Court and Supreme Court against the trial court’s summons, it did not get relief. The courts pronounced that they must face trial. After the trial court’s summons in July 2014, the IT department had issued notice to Young Indian and Congress and AJl for the controversial Rs 90-crore loan.