Nitin T Bhuptani Vs ACIT (ITAT Rajkot)
Donor Cannot Be Punished for the Political Party’s Alleged Misconduct: Section 80GGC Deduction Allowed Where Donation Was Made Through Banking Channel
The Rajkot ITAT has allowed deduction u/s 80GGC for a donation made to a political party through banking channels, holding that the donor’s claim could not be rejected merely because the recipient political party was subsequently alleged to be involved in facilitating bogus donations.
Where the political party was active and duly registered at the time of donation, the payment was made through a banking channel and the donor possessed documentary evidence of the contribution, the assessee could not be denied deduction in the absence of material establishing that the donated amount was actually returned to him.
The assessee, Nitin T. Bhuptani, filed his return for AY 2019-20 declaring a total income of ₹11,94,480. In the return, he claimed deduction u/s 80GGC in respect of a donation of ₹1,80,000 made to Yuva Jan Jagruti Party.
Section 80GGC permits an individual and other eligible non-corporate taxpayers to claim deduction for contributions made to a political party registered u/s 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 or to an electoral trust. However, no deduction is permissible where the contribution is made in cash.
