SOP issued for verification of assets declared by candidates during elections, Income-Tax departments tells Madras High Court

The Income Tax department on Monday (April 20, 2026) informed the Madras High Court of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) having been issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes for verification of the assets declared by candidates contesting in Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly elections.

Appearing before Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan, Additional Solicitor General AR.L. Sundaresan, assisted by I-T department senior standing counsel A.P. Srinivas, said, the SOP requires the department to verify the election affidavits after the declaration of the results

However, in a case alleging material discrepancies in the affidavits filed by Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin in the 2021 elections and the elections happening this year, since the court had called for the response of the Director General of Income Tax (Investigation), the department took a look into the records, he said.

There was a “temporal incongruity” between the dates that Mr. Udhayanadhi had declared his assets in the election affidavits and the financial reporting periods related to his income tax returns (ITR) and therefore, the department required some more time for a detailed inquiry and verification of records, he said.