Actor Vijay did not voluntarily discharge his liability to pay entry tax for a BMW X5 luxury car imported from the United States in 2005, even after his writ petition was dismissed on June 28, 2019, the Commercial Taxes Department told the Madras High Court on Monday.
Additional Advocate General Haja Nazirudeen said before Justice R. Suresh Kumar that after his 14-year-old case was dismissed, the actor neither filed returns nor voluntarily settled his tax due. As a result, on March 9, 2021, he received a notice requesting import data and freight charges.
On March 19, 2021, another notification was delivered in person to the actor’s lawyer. After receiving no response, a third notification was delivered by registered mail on July 14, 2021, but it, too, received no response. As a result, officials obtained the car’s valuation from the Regional Transport Office (RTO).
According to information obtained from the RTO, the car’s value was determined to be 63.84 lakh, with a payment of 2.344 lakh made toward insurance. The officials wanted a 7.98 lakh entrance tax, as well as a penalty interest of 30.23 lakh, based on the information.
According to the AAG, who was aided by Additional Government Pleader Richardson Wilson, the actor paid the tax sum of 7.98 lakh under protest on September 17, 2021, and moved to the High Court to contest the penalty and recovery letters issued to him. He argued that the actor’s writ petition should be dismissed by the court.
Although the actor claimed to have sold the automobile in 2009, the AAG stated that because he was the vehicle’s original importer, the sale would not relieve him of his need to file returns and pay the tax. A counter affidavit was also filed by the law officer in response to a similar writ suit filed by music composer Harris Jayaraj.
