Official: EC not empowered to probe funds' source, quantum

NEW DELHI: Election Commission sources said Wednesday the poll body had no legal authority to investigate the source or quantum of contributions received by a political party, be it a recognised national/state party or a registered unrecognised political party (RUPP).

As per Section 29C of Representation of the People Act 1951, a political party must, on an annual basis, file a contribution report with EC, declaring all donations received in excess of Rs 20,000. Once the party files the contribution report, an acknowledgement is issued through the chief electoral officer concerned. This acknowledgment is used by the party to claim tax relief while filing its income-tax return for the said financial year.


“It is the Central Board for Direct Taxes (CBDT) that has the legal mandate to probe the source and extent of contributions received and declared by the political parties,” an official told TOI.

Stating that the EC can at most delist a RUPP if it has not contested elections for six continuous years, is not found at its registered address or has not filed its contribution reports and annual audit reports, etc. Delisting makes a RUPP ineligible for tax exemption.

EC is already reviewing the fulfilment of these conditions by the RUPPs. Earlier, 537 RUPPs were delisted. Under CEC Gyanesh Kumar, 334 parties were delisted on Aug 9; another 476 were put on notice two days later.

There are currently 2520 RUPPs across the country.

Interestingly, in the case of the five Gujarat parties that figure among the 10 top RUPPs in terms of donations received, their contributions almost match the expenditure. Also, two of these five Gujarat RUPPs had fought 2024 general election, one the Delhi assembly election in 2025 and the remaining two, the 2022 Gujarat assembly polls.

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