Actor Vijay had filed a petition seeking exemption from paying entry tax on his imported luxury car, the Rolls Royce Ghost, from England in 2012, which cost around ₹ 1.2 crore.
The bench of Justice SM Subramaniam had passed critical remarks against the actor and imposed on him a fine of ₹ 1 lakh. “A person paying tax punctually and promptly is to be considered a real hero,” the judge had declared. “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.”
He then went on to order Vijay to pay entry tax as demanded, within two weeks of the actor receiving a copy of his order. The ₹ 1 lakh fine, he said, must be paid to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s COVID-19 Public Relief Fund – also within two weeks.
In a fresh petition Vijay challenged the fine and wanted remarks against actors, that had the words “construed as anti-national habit, attitude, and mindset, and unconstitutional” to be expunged.
When granted the permission to challenge the court order, Senior advocate Vijay Narayan, who appeared on behalf of Joseph Vijay stated the actor was ready to pay the taxes, but wanted to expunge the adverse comments that “created a negative publicity” and could be “hurtful to any person”.
A two-judge bench of Justices M Duraiswamy and R Hemalatha stayed the judgment of a single judge bench, which was highly critical of the actor, and allowed him to remit the entire tax amount. Vijay has to pay the 80 percent of the entry tax within a week of receiving a new demand notice from the authorities, as he had already paid the remaining 20 percent.
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