4 months ago
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The Madras High Court connected Friday (January 23, 2026) reserved its orders connected a writ petition filed by histrion and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president C. Joseph Vijay successful 2022 against imposition of a punishment of ₹1.5 crore connected him by the Income Tax section for not having voluntarily disclosed an further income of ₹15 crore during the fiscal twelvemonth 2015-16.
Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy deferred his verdict aft proceeding the petitioner’s counsel and I-T section elder lasting counsel A.P. Srinivas who vehemently opposed the writ petition and contended that the punishment had been rightly imposed nether Section 271AAB(1) of the I-T Act. The lasting counsel urged the tribunal to disregard the actor’s writ petition.
In his arguments, the petitioner’s counsel contended the punishment proceedings were deed by the regulation period. Stating that the proceedings indispensable person been initiated connected oregon earlier June 30, 2019 and not connected June 30, 2022, helium claimed, the regulation play would statesman from the day erstwhile the Assessing Officer refers a substance to the Additional/Joint Commissioner of Income Tax.
Taking the justice done the facts of the case, Mr. Srinivas told the tribunal that the I-T sleuths had conducted a hunt and seizure cognition astatine the premises belonging to Mr. Vijay connected September 30, 2015 and seized definite incriminating materials.
The materials indicated that P.T. Selvakumar and Shibu of SKT Studios, producers of the actor’s 2015 movie Puli, had paid him ₹4.93 crore successful currency isolated from the remuneration of ₹16 crore done cheques. They had deposited the Tax Deducted astatine Source (TDS) lone for the cheque magnitude and not the currency transaction.
When the histrion was confronted with the records, helium reportedly admitted to person received ₹5 crore successful currency and agreed to wage the taxes for it. When asked however overmuch of unaccounted income had the histrion earned successful the past six years, helium replied helium hadn’t received immoderate unaccounted currency but for the ₹5 crore for Puli.
Nevertheless, successful bid to cooperate with the I-T section and to resoluteness the taxation issues successful an amicable manner, the histrion agreed to disclose an further income of ₹15 crore (including the currency transaction of ₹5 crore) for the fiscal twelvemonth 2015-16 and wage the indispensable taxes for it.
Subsequently, connected July 29, 2016, helium filed his instrumentality of income for the appraisal twelvemonth 2016-17 declaring his full income to beryllium ₹35.42 crore including the further ₹15 crore. While filing the returns, helium claimed depreciation of assets worthy ₹17.81 lakh and sought exemption for his fans’ nine expenses of ₹64.71 lakh.
However, the section disallowed his claims and passed an appraisal bid connected December 30, 2017, determining the taxable income to beryllium ₹38.25 crore. The appraisal bid besides stated the histrion would not person disclosed the further income but for the hunt and seizure operation.
Therefore, the section imposed punishment nether Sections 271(1)(c) and 271AAB(1) of the I-T Act. Though, helium chose to spell connected statutory entreaty against the appraisal bid arsenic good arsenic the punishment imposed nether Section 271(1)(c), the punishment nether Section 271AAB(1) unsocial had been challenged by mode of a writ petition.
