vijay: Madras HC gives temporary relief to ‘Beast’ star Vijay, stays I-T penalty of Rs 1.5 cr

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Tuesday provided temporary relief to top actor Vijay, by staying the orders of the Income Tax department imposing a penalty of Rs 1.5 crore on him for not voluntarily disclosing Rs 15 crore in his I-T returns for 2016-17. Justice Anita Sumanth granted the stay today while admitting a petition from Vijay, challenging the penalty imposed by the department, based on raids conducted at his residence in 2020.

Conceding the contention of Vijay that the punitive action was time-barred, the judge granted the interim injunction.

In his petition, Vijay sought to quash the order of the I-T department pertaining to the assessment year 2016-17. He said that the notice dated December 11, 2018 demanding the fine amount for 2016-17 was time-barred and hence it is invalid.

The IT department had failed to appreciate the fact that having completed the assessment on December 30, 2017, the penalty proceedings u/s 271AAB of the IT Act for the surrendered income/ undisputed income should be initiated and completed on or before June 30, 2018.

Any show-cause notice issued beyond that date should be considered as nullity in law, he claimed.