The BJP had slammed the notice demanding service tax on Narendra Modi's rallies. (File photo)
An embarrassed Central Excise Department on Tuesday hastily withdrew notices sent to four BJP offices demanding service tax on Narendra Modi's rallies after angry reaction from the party questioned the government's motive behind the move.
The Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence said that the notices sent to Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab units of the BJP by its Ludhiana regional unit stand withdrawn. "No action is required to be taken at your end," it said in its withdrawal letter.
"The BJP leaders have clarified that the amount being collected through tickets is nothing but a party fund, hence the department has withdrawn its notice," PS Bisth of the Central Excise & Service Tax (Investigations) said in Ludhiana.
In its notice to the BJP units, the department had asked them for the details of money collected for entry tickets to various rallies organised in the region after July 1, 2012.
The BJP had slammed the move, calling it yet another manifestation of what it termed as the Congress party's desperation over not being able to counter Mr Modi's growing popularity.
"Absurd that it may sound, they now propose to tax Modi's rallies. Considering the mammoth crowds who gather to listen to Narendra Modi all over the country, this can be Finance Minister's faint hope of augmenting his otherwise depleting revenue," BJP leader Arun jaitley had reacted on his blog.
There were no tickets, Mr Jaitley pointed out, for Mr Modi's rallies, and the money collected from these meetings and other places were merely part of a fund collection drive launched by the party.
Mr Jaitley had also wondered why other political parties, including the Congress, were not being targeted. "There is no doubt that the UPA government has taken leave of all its senses," he said.