Actor Dhanush draws Madras HC's ire, for seeking entry tax exemption

It appears to be a season of reigning Kollywood stars earning the ire of Madras High Court in cases seeking exemption from Entry tax for their imported luxury cars. Intially, it was Vijay, the monarch of the Tamil film industry and now it's the turn of national award winning actor Dhanush. With a huge fan base, both are bankable heroes. Justice SM Subramaniam of the Madras HC, has now turned down Dhanush's plea to withdraw the petition filed in 2015, holding that it was a vexatious petition and the actor should have paid the remainder of the tax soon after the Supreme Court had settled the issue in 2018. The Judge also directed the Commercial Tax Officer concerned to appear before the Court to inform the pending tax to be paid.

Chennai (Tamil Nadu): Close on the heels of Tamil actor Vijay getting rapped by Madras High Court for seeking exemption from 'Entry Tax' for his imported Rolls Royce ‘Ghost’ car, another acclaimed film star of the Tamil film industry, Dhanush, has invited the wrath of the Court on Thursday.

"Even a milk vendor and a daily wage labourer are paying taxes for every litre of petrol they are buying. No such person approaches the High Court seeking exemption from such taxes. At least, I have not seen such a case in my experience," Justice SM Subramanian observed and refused the actor’s plea to withdraw the petition filed in 2015. Further, the Judge expressed his displeasure over the petitioner not disclosing his profession, as done earlier in Vijay’s case.

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A plethora of cases have been filed in Madras HC after the Kerala HC had stayed the collection of Entry Tax on imported cars. But, the Supreme Court had in 2018, settled the issue upholding States’ right to collect the tax. Dhanush had paid 50 percent of the Entry Tax in 2016 on a Court direction earlier and had been using the Rolls Royce 'Ghost' model car. When the case came up for hearing, counsel for the petitioner informed that the actor was willing to pay the Rs 33,33,000 remainder and withdraw the petition.

"If your intentions are genuine, you should have paid the tax at least after the Supreme Court had settled the issue. You are seeking to withdraw the petition after the matter has been listed. No doubt, it is your right to move the court. Are you aware of the Vexatious Litigation Act? Due to such petitions, the Court is unable to allot time to decide genuine issues," the Judge said.

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"Why has the petitioner not disclosed his profession? He has the resources to buy an imported Rolls Royce Ghost car. But, not inclined to reveal his work. It is the duty of the counsel to have advised his client in this regard. Buy whatever you want, but pay the legitimate tax to the government," Justice Subramaniam noted. The Judge further directed the Commercial Tax Officer concerned to appear before the Court and submit the details of the pending tax to be paid by the petitioner in the afternoon by 2.15 pm.

Earlier, on July 13, Justice Subramanian had criticized actor Vijay in a similar case and imposed a penalty of Rs 1,00,000. On the actor preferring an appeal, a Division Bench had set aside the penalty and stayed remarks passed by the single judge while directing the film star to pay the remainder of the tax within a week of receiving the copy of the order.