TIA NEWS /
Election Commission has urged the government to amend laws to ban anonymous contributions of 20,000 rupees and above made to political parties. It is with the objective to check and prevent the flow of black money in polls.
There is no constitutional or statutory prohibition on receipt of anonymous donations by political parties. But there is an indirect partial ban on anonymous donations through the requirement of declaration of donations under the Representation of the People Act.
But, such declarations are mandated only for contributions above 20 thousand rupees.
The Commission has also proposed that exemption of Income Tax should only be extended to political parties that contest
elections and win seats in Lok Sabha or assembly polls.
Yesterday, the government had said that political parties depositing old 500 and 1,000 rupee notes in their accounts will be exempt from income tax provided the donations taken are below 20 thousand rupees per individual and properly documented.