TVK's Vijay To Pay Rs 1.5 Cr Income Tax Penalty After Madras High Court Rejects Plea

The Madras High Court on Friday dismissed a petition filed by actor and Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) founder Vijay, who had challenged a Rs 1.5 crore penalty imposed by the Income Tax Department.

Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorty rejected the plea and upheld the demand notice issued by the department. The penalty relates to the assessment year 2015–16 and concerns alleged non-disclosure of income.

According to the tax authorities, documents seized during a 2015 search at Vijay’s residence indicated that he had not declared Rs 15 crore earned from the film Puli. Based on these findings, the department issued an order on June 30, 2022 imposing the penalty.

Vijay, however, maintained that he had declared an income of Rs 35.42 crore for the financial

year 2016–17 and challenged the department’s action in court.

A single judge had earlier admitted his petition on August 16, 2022 and granted interim relief by staying the operation of the penalty order.

With Friday’s ruling, the High Court has now dismissed his challenge and allowed the tax department’s action to stand.

Vijay argued that the penalty order ought to have been issued before June 30, 2019 and claimed that the delay made it invalid. The Income Tax Department, however, maintained that the action was lawful under the provisions of the Income Tax Act and urged the court to reject his petition.

After considering both sides, the court agreed with the department’s stand and dismissed Vijay’s plea.