Ever since Vijay entered into politics, he has been facing many problems, Stampede incident, Jana Nayagan censor issues and now Income Tax penalty. The Madras High Court has dismissed a writ petition filed by Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay, challenging an order of the Income Tax department directing him to pay a Rs 1.50 crore penalty for alleged non disclosure of his full income during 2015-16.
Vijay had declared an income of Rs 35.42 crore for the financial year 2016-2017, but the Income Tax Department alleged that he had not disclosed an income of Rs 15 crore earned from the Tamil film 'Puli'. The Income Tax Department had conducted a raid at Vijay's residence in 2015 and seized documents indicating undisclosed income.
The department issued a penalty order on June 30, 2022, which Vijay challenged in the Madras High Court. Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy reserved the order on January 23 after hearing arguments from both sides. Vijay's counsel argued that the penalty order should have been issued before June 30, 2019, as per the law, and the delay rendered the action invalid.
However, the Income Tax Department contended that the penalty order was issued within the six month period after the appeal against the income tax assessment was concluded. The court noted that the penalty of Rs 1.5 crore imposed on actor Vijay by the Income Tax Department is valid and stated that it cannot interfere with the department's order. However, Vijay can approach the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal with a different plea.