The Madras High Court on Friday dismissed a writ petition filed by actor and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay, challenging an Income Tax Department order that imposed a penalty of ₹1.50 crore for alleged non-disclosure of income during the 2015–16 assessment year.
Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy ruled that the penalty order had been passed within the legally prescribed time limit and therefore did not suffer from any infirmity that would warrant interference by the court. With this observation, the court dismissed the petition.
During the proceedings, Vijay’s counsel sought liberty to challenge the penalty order through other legal remedies. The court clarified that it was open to the petitioner to approach the appropriate appellate authority under the Income Tax Act to contest the order.
The case stems from a raid conducted by the Income Tax Department at Vijay’s residence in 2015. Based on documents seized during the operation, the department alleged that the actor had failed to disclose income amounting to ₹15 crore earned from the Tamil film “Puli”.
According to the records placed before the court, Vijay had declared a total income of ₹35.42 crore for the financial year 2016–17. However, the department maintained that the earnings from “Puli” were not fully reflected in his tax filings.
Following its assessment, the Income Tax Department imposed a penalty of ₹1.50 crore through an order dated June 30, 2022. Vijay subsequently challenged this order before the High Court, and a single judge had stayed the operation of the penalty on August 16, 2022.
After hearing arguments from both sides, the court had reserved its order on January 23. With the dismissal of the writ petition, the interim stay on the penalty order stands vacated, though Vijay retains the right to pursue the matter before the appellate forum as provided under law.