Madras High court to actor Vijay: Pay Rs.1 lakh fine for challenging Rolls Royce entry tax

India has one of the highest tax implementations when it comes to the imported vehicles. That is why many people try to escape paying taxes by doing illegal things. Madras High Court has directed Tamil actor Vijay to pay Rs 1 lakh for failing to pay the entry tax of his Rolls Royce Ghost.

Rolls Royce manufactures the cars in Goodwood, England and exports the vehicles all over the world. Justice S M Subramaniam imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on Vijay. The court imposed the fine because the actor tried evading paying the tax by challenging the tax demand made by the commercial tax department.

The plea move by Vijay was rejected by the court. The judge said that the actor has a large-scale fanbase and is not expected to evade tax. The July 8 ruling by Judge Subramaniam says,

“Those fans see such actors as real heroes. In a state like Tamil Nadu, where such actors have become rulers of the state, they are not expected to behave like a ‘reel hero’. Tax evasion is to be construed as an anti-national habit, attitude and mindset and unconstitutional. These actors are portraying themselves as champions to bring social justice in the society. 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,”

The judge also said that the common man is motivated and encouraged to behave as a lawful citizen and pay tax. The rich, affluent and reputed persons fail to pay the tax.

Ordered to pay the entry tax

The court has directed Vijay to pay the entry tax if he has not done it yet. The import tax is about 20% of the value of the car. For a Rolls Royce, which is a multicrore vehicle, 20% of the value can run into lakhs of rupees.

We are not sure how Vijay received the car without paying the taxes in the first place. Tax needs to be paid on any vehicle coming from the foreign land and without paying the taxes, the authorities do not clear the entry of the vehicle. The court or the report does not say clearly how Vijay was able to get the Rolls Royce Ghost.

Vijay is one of the few celebrities who own a Rolls Royce in India. In fact, he got his Rolls Royce way back in 2012 and still uses the same vehicle. The white coloured Rolls Royce has become his favourite vehicle and Vijay uses it to reach the events and even do movie promotions.

Tax evading even inside India is not uncommon. Many people use fake addresses to get their vehicles registered in other states and union territories where the road tax is low. Even though the government cracks down such evaders every now and then, there is still a large number of such people out there.

The post Madras High court to actor Vijay: Pay Rs.1 lakh fine for challenging Rolls Royce entry tax first appeared on Cartoq.

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