(This article is authored by Alar)

The Madras High Court on Tuesday stayed the execution of an order issued by the Income Tax department on June 30 that had already fined actor C. Joseph Vijay 1.5 crore rupees for failing to willingly report an additional 15 crore rupees in income during the financial year 2015–16.

The actor's writ petition was directed to be countered by testimony by September 16 by the senior standing counsel for the Income Tax department, A P Srinivas. The attorney representing the actor said that Vijay should have received the penalty levied on him under section 271AAB(1) of the Income Tax Act before June 30, 2018, and he questioned the legality of the notification sent by the I-T department.

For the year 2016-17, the income for that year was Rs. 35 crores 42 lakhs 91 thousand, as he mentioned. However the Income Tax officials who conducted the raid for that year compared the documents seized at Vijay's house in 2015. It was found that Vijay had concealed 15 crores of the salary received for the film Puli. 

“However, in order to cooperate with the department in an amicable manner, I admit an additional income of Rs 10 crores for the current financial year 2015-16. This is in addition to Rs 5 crore as already admitted by me on account of cash remuneration received for the film ‘Puli’,” he had said to the department and agreed to pay the necessary taxes for Rs 15 crore of unaccounted income.

This led to the initiation of penalty proceedings under Section 271(1)(c) of the Income Tax Act, which resulted in the imposition of a penalty of Rs. 1.5 crore. As a result, he filed a petition with the High Court to contest this penalty. And furtherly the judge instructed A P Srinivas, senior standing counsel for the Income Tax department, to take notice and make sure that a reply affidavit to the actor's writ case was submitted by September 16.