Contestants in Bengal polls will have to file tax details

KOLKATA - In a never before initiative, prospective candidates in the upcoming West Bengal assembly polls will have to give their permanent account number (PAN) and and tax returns in the declaration form required to be submitted before filing of nominations, officials said Monday.

“For the first time, the PAN and the status of filing IT return of the candidate, as well as his or her spouse and dependents have to be mentioned in the asset declaration form. Besides, there will be a separate column on the past criminal record of the candidate in the asset declaration form also,” said state’s additional chief electoral officer N.K. Sahana.

The candidates will have to declare the details of the last property purchased, along with the date of the purchase and the price. They will also have to furnish the current market value of the immovable properties possessed by them. If the Income Tax department receives specific complaint on the assets possessed by a particular candidate, then they will assess the concerned person’s possessions with evaluators, said Sahana.

Earlier, the candidates just needed to mention if any criminal cases were pending against them. In the new forms, they will have to furnish all details of cases in which they had once been convicted.

“In the section mentioned ‘Cases in which I have been convicted by the court of law,’ the aspiring candidates will have to file details of the date of conviction, case number, convicted by which police station and tried in which court,” said Sahana.

Also, under a new directive of the election commission, any person convicted in any case under certain specific acts like the Section 11 of Customs Act, Protection of Civil Rights Act, Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act, Sati Prevention Act, Dowry Prevention Act, Anti-National Activities Act, Narcotics Act and for promoting enmity between classes in connection with election, will not be allowed to contest the elections.

“For other people with criminal records, if a person has served a term in jail for two years or more, then he or she will not be allowed to contest elections for six years from the date of release,” said Sahana.