EC, IT dept to check candidates' expenditures, assets

The Election Commission (EC) and the Income Tax department will soon start scrutinising assets and expenditure details of candidates filed during and after the Lok Sabha polls.     

The Commission has asked all the district returning officers and state Election Commissioners to forward to them by June 16 affidavits of declaration of assets and expenditures during the polls.     

Candidates get a month's time after the declaration of results (May 16 this time) to file complete expenditure and income tax related details, which the EC has made mandatory.   

After receiving the documents, the Commission will forward these papers to the I-T department, an EC official said.     

I-T department authorities said an internal communication has been sent to all the Chief Commissioners of Income-Tax (CCITs) in this regard.     

"The department has already been working on assessing the annual tax returns of taxpayers and once the details of the candidates' declaration are received, the ball would be set rolling," an I-T Commissioner said.

The IT department has also asked its enforcement wings of intelligence, investigation and exemption to gather information on monetary figures filed by various candidates who participated in the elections.     

The department will also scrutinise declaration forms of candidates who have not furnished their PAN card details.     

The Commission had, before the start of polls, said a special cell comprising tax officials would be set up after the elections.     

Former Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami had on March 2 said that the Commission has decided to track violation of expenditure norms "closely for follow up action," by taking "special steps".     

Only the expenses on account of travel of leaders of political parties, whose names have been communicated to the EC, would be exempted from being included in the account of expenses of a candidate, the Commission had said.