Representation of the People Act, 1951 | Part IVA

Section 29C: Declaration of Donations Received by Political Parties

Section 29C of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 requires political parties to prepare and submit an annual report of specified contributions exceeding Rs. 20,000. It establishes a disclosure mechanism for political funding and links compliance with eligibility for income-tax relief.

Key requirement: The party treasurer or another authorised person must submit the prescribed Form 24A to the Election Commission of India before the applicable due date for filing the party's income-tax return under Section 139.

Meaning and scope of Section 29C

Section 29C(1): Contributions to be reported

For each financial year, the treasurer or other person authorised by the political party must prepare a report covering:

Clause (a): contributions exceeding Rs. 20,000 received from any person during that financial year;
Clause (b): contributions exceeding Rs. 20,000 received from companies other than Government companies during that financial year.

The statutory expression is "in excess of twenty thousand rupees". Section 29B separately regulates which contributions political parties may lawfully accept; reporting a contribution does not itself make an otherwise prohibited donation lawful.

Section 29C(2): Prescribed form

The contribution report must be prepared in the form prescribed by the rules. Rule 85B of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 prescribes Form 24A, which records details of the party and reportable contributions, including contributor particulars, amounts and payment information.

Section 29C(3): Filing with the Election Commission

The treasurer or authorised person must submit the report for the financial year to the Election Commission of India before the due date for furnishing the party's income-tax return for that financial year under Section 139 of the Income-tax Act, 1961. Parties should verify applicable due-date extensions and the Election Commission's filing directions for the relevant year rather than assume a fixed calendar deadline.

Section 29C(4): Consequences of non-filing

If the prescribed report is not submitted in accordance with subsection (3), Section 29C(4) provides, notwithstanding the Income-tax Act, that the political party is not entitled to tax relief under that Act. Section 13A of the Income-tax Act separately governs exemption of specified income of political parties, subject to statutory conditions.

Electoral bonds and the Supreme Court judgment of 2024

The Finance Act, 2017 inserted a proviso exempting electoral-bond contributions from the disclosure requirement in Section 29C(1). On 15 February 2024, the Supreme Court in Association for Democratic Reforms v. Union of India (2024 INSC 113) held the electoral-bond non-disclosure framework unconstitutional. Accordingly, the electoral-bond exemption should not be treated as a valid, continuing exception to donation transparency merely because it remains printed in some compilations of the statutory text.

The judgment addressed the electorate's right to information about political funding under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution and also invalidated related amendments concerning corporate contributions. Historical electoral-bond disclosures and the applicable reporting process should be considered in light of the Court's directions and Election Commission publications.

Practical compliance checklist

Maintain complete financial-year records of contributions and donor information.
Identify contributions exceeding the statutory Rs. 20,000 threshold and check applicable disclosure rules and ECI instructions.
Prepare Form 24A under Rule 85B with the prescribed particulars.
Have the report verified and submitted by the treasurer or another duly authorised person.
File within the applicable Section 139 due date, accounting for any valid extension, and preserve filing acknowledgments.
Review Section 13A and other applicable income-tax conditions independently.

Related legal provisions

Section 29A: registration of associations and bodies as political parties with the Election Commission.
Section 29B: entitlement and restrictions concerning acceptance of voluntary contributions.
Rule 85B: form and submission of the annual contribution report (Form 24A).
Section 139, Income-tax Act, 1961: income-tax return filing requirements and due dates referred to by Section 29C.
Section 13A, Income-tax Act, 1961: special income-tax provisions applicable to political parties.

Official legal texts and resources

Legal position reviewed October 2026. Consult the applicable statutory text, judicial directions and official filing instructions for the relevant financial year.