Anushka Sharma files petition in Bombay HC against sales tax notice, court to hear plea on Feb 6

• Image Credit: Google

• Jan 12, 2023 | Dhupali Das

The HC had pulled up Sharma for filing petitions through her tax consultant instead of filing them herself...

Digital Desk: Actor Anushka Sharma has filed a petition in the Bombay High Court challenging a notice issued to her by the sales tax department for the recovery of tax for the fiscal years 2012–13 and 2013–14.

Last month, the High Court pulled up the actor for filing two petitions against the notice through her tax consultant.

The court ordered the sales tax department to reply to the actor's petition within three weeks and continued the hearing till February 6.

During the previous hearing, the bench of Justices Nitin Jamdar and Gauri Godse stated that they had never seen or heard of tax consultants filing cases and asked actor Anushka Sharma's advocate why she couldn't file the tax petitions herself.

"There is no reason shown why the petitioner cannot lodge these petitions on solemn affirmation," said Justices Nitin Jamdar and Gauri Godse in their December 15 ruling.

She had filed two applications, one through her tax consultant, Shrikant Velekar, against orders passed by the Deputy Commissioner of Sales Tax, Mazgaon, requesting dues for the 2012–13 and 2013–14 assessment years.

The actor has now withdrawn pleas filed through her lawyer and filed the new petition in her own name.

The actor claimed in her petition that she had performed in films and at award functions as part of a tri-party arrangement with her agent, Yashraj Films Pvt. Ltd., and producers/event organizers.

According to TOI, the assessing officer levied sales tax not on film compensation but on product endorsement and anchoring at award functions.

Sharma claimed that the assessing officer "erroneously" concluded that by endorsing goods, participating in awards shows, and remaining present, she had acquired copyrights, which are intangible things, and had subsequently been sold or transferred.

She said that copyrights of videos always remain with the producer who is the owner of it. "...performer's rights are not copyrights and performer's rights are not capable of being transferred to any other person,'' her petition read.