The Madras High Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition by actor Vijay seeking direction to scrap collection of entry tax on his luxury car—Rolls Royce Ghost imported from England in 2012. The HC also imposed a cost of Rs 1 lakh to be paid by the actor to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s Public Relief Fund.
Justice S.M. Subramaniam came down heavily on actors for avoiding payment of taxes and highlighted how important this revenue was for building infrastructure, The Hindu stated in a report. The court also noted in its order that Vijay, who is the petitioner, had not revealed his profession or occupation in his affidavit. “He has imported a prestigious costly car from England but unfortunately, not paid entry tax as per the statutes. He has filed a writ petition to avoid payment of tax… The petitioner, who is a reputed cine actor, is expected to pay the tax promptly and punctually,” the judge said.
The judge also commented on how in real life, the behaviour of actors was in stark contrast to their roles onscreen in which they portray themselves as ‘champions of social justice. He said: “These actors portray themselves as champions of social justice. Their movies are against corrupt activities in the society. But, they are evading tax and acting in a manner which is not in consonance with the provisions of the statutes.”
Vijay’s affidavit says that he had paid import duty on the car and that he had approached the Regional Transport Officer and the Motor Vehicles Inspector to get a new registration mark assigned for his vehicle. The authorities, however, said that he has to pay an entry tax for the vehicle. The actor in his petition argued that extraordinary entry tax has been imposed on the vehicle, the News Minute reported.