Thalapathy Vijay Challenges Madras High Court’s Judgement Over Rs 1.5 Crore Tax Penalty: Report

Tamil

actor and politician Thalapathy Vijay has challenged a judgement passed by the Madras High Court upholding the Rs 1.5 crore income tax penalty imposed on him. He has filed an appeal before a division bench of the Madras High Court against a single judge's judgement against him. For the unversed, the appeal was filed in March 2026 and it is yet to be processed for listing. The appeal was filed after the justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy dismissed Vijay’s petition, holding that the penalty order by the Income Tax Department was within the limited period given to him under the Income Tax Act.

Vijay’s appeal against Madras HC’s judgement

According to a Bar and Bench report, the case was filed after Vijay’s assessment for the financial year 2015-16 (assessment year 2016-17), which followed a search conducted by the Income Tax Department on September 30, 2015. During the search, Vijay confessed in a sworn statement that he had received Rs 15 crore in cash as remuneration, in addition to Rs 16 crore received through banking transactions. The undisclosed income was eventually included in his return. The assessment proceedings also examined an expenditure head titled ‘Release And Rasiggar Madram Expenses,' under which Vijay claimed Rs 2.92 crore. According to the representative, Rs 2 crore was paid directly by the film’s producer to the fan club members across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, while Rs 92.44 lakh was paid in cash by the Jana Nayagan actor.

The assessing officer didn’t allow the Rs 2 crore component because of a lack of proof and allowed only part of the cash expenditure. The Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) granted partial relief to the actor, and the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal ultimately allowed 50 per cent of the total expenditure. On the other hand, the penalty proceedings were initiated under Section 271AAB, which deals with penalties in search cases. The department imposed a penalty of Rs 1.5 crore – 10 per cent of the admitted undisclosed income of Rs 15 crore. Before the court’s judgement, Vijay confined his challenge solely to limitation. He argued that the penalty order dated June 30, 2022, was time-barred under Section 275(1)(c), which prescribes a shorter six-month limitation period for any other case. Reacting to the same, the single judge rejected Vijay’s contention and upheld the penalty order. The court has noted that the ITAT order was issued on December 22, 2021, and the six-month period expired on June 30, 2022, the very date on which the penalty order was passed. The judgement concluded that the order was within limitation, and found no infirmity warranting interference.

About Vijay

Thalapathy Vijay will be contesting the Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections 2026 for his political party, TVK (Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam). His last film as an actor, Jana Nayagan, has been delayed due to certification issues. Vijay claimed that all the issues have been created by the opposition parties. Stay tuned for more updates!