Auditing Congress Inc and BJP Ltd

Are the audited financial accounts of political parties available for public scrutiny? Technically, yes: they are submitted every year to the income tax (IT) department - but crucially not to the Election Commission (EC). Political parties are exempt from paying income tax and accessing their annual balance sheets from the IT department is a tortuous process. The accounts submitted to the EC are principally details of funds received and spent by parties during specific elections. The EC does not mandatorily require submission of annual audited profit and loss accounts.

Read Full Story>>