Bombay High Court agreed to hear Bollywood actress Anushka SharmaA petition challenging the proceedings initiated against him by the Sales Tax Department. The court has issued notice to the respondents on Anushka’s plea and posted the matter for hearing on February 6. Last month, the High Court had reprimanded the Bollywood actor for filing two petitions against the notices through his tax consultant. He has filed four petitions for assessment years 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16.
She filed the petition last week after the HC declined to entertain a plea filed by Sharma’s taxation advisor Shrikant Velekar challenging orders of the sales tax department in December 2022. The HC had then noted that there was no reason why the affected person (Anushka) could not file the petition herself.
According to Sharma’s petitions, she performed in films and award functions as an artiste as part of a tripartite agreement with her agent, Yash Raj Films Pvt Ltd, and the producers/event organisers. The petition states that the assessing officer levied sales tax not on the consideration of the film but on endorsement of the product and anchoring at the award function, adding that Sharma has transferred his artiste’s rights.
For 2012-13, the sales tax demand including interest was Rs.1.2 crore on a consideration of Rs.12.3 crore and for the year 2013-14 it was Rs.1.
6 crores on a consideration of around 17 crores. The Sales Tax Department passed orders between 2021 and 2022.
Anushka Sharma in her petitions has stated that there is no provision for filing an appeal before the Appellate Authority unless 10 per cent of the disputed tax is paid. The petitions state that the assessing officer wrongly held that by endorsing the products and being present at the award function, he acquired and sold/transferred the copyright. The plea states that the copyright of the video always rests with the creator who owns the same.
“Unless it is established that there is sale of goods (tangible or intangible), sales tax cannot be levied,” the plea said. Anushka said that an actor who has played a role in a film cannot be said to be a producer or a producer of the film and therefore does not own the copyright of the film. “The petitioner submits that an actor does not have any copyright in the film, hence the question of transferring/selling the same to any other person or producer does not arise,” the petitioner said.
The petition states that if according to the Sales Tax department, Sharma has transferred the artist’s rights, then it should mention to whom he has done so. “The artist’s rights are to protect the interest of the actor and are not for transfer or sale,” the actress said in her plea.
recent indian cricketer Virat Kohli and his actress wife Anushka Sharma visited Baba Neem Karoli Ashram in Vrindavan. The celebrity couple is known for their religious leanings and sought blessings in the holy city of Vrindavan. He was accompanied by his darling daughter Vamika Kohli, who sat on Anushka’s lap and was in awe of the religious spirit. A video of the celebrity pairing with Vamika has gone viral on social media and fans are showering love on the family. Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma stayed at Baba Neem Karoli Ashram in Vrindavan for about an hour and visited Baba’s Samadhi besides meditating in the cottage.
Anushka’s workfront
On the professional front, Anushka recently surprised everyone with her cameo in ‘Kala’. After this she will be seen in the upcoming film Chakda Express. The film is directed by Prosit Roy and is a sports biopic based on the life of former Indian cricketer Jhulan Goswami. Anushka will be seen in the role of a cricketer for the first time in her career. The sports drama will also premiere on Netflix.