Setback for Vijay as Madras HC dismisses TVK chief's plea against Rs 1.5 crore income tax penalty

The case originated from income tax searches conducted at Vijay’s residence in September 2015.

In a setback to actor-turned-politician Vijay, the Madras High Court on Friday dismissed a plea filed by him, upholding a Rs 1.5 crore penalty imposed by the Income Tax Department over alleged undisclosed income of Rs 15 crore for the financial year 2015–16.

The judgment was delivered by Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy, who had reserved the verdict on January 23, 2026.

Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy refused to set aside the penalty imposed by the I-T department since the actor had disclosed his additional income and paid taxes for it only pursuant to a search and seizure operation carried out by the sleuths on September 30, 2015 and not before that. He concluded the penalty order had been issued within the period of limitation prescribed under the Income Tax Act.

The court held that the show cause notice issued by the tax authorities was within the time limit prescribed under Section 263 of the Income Tax Act and found no procedural infirmity in its issuance. In view of this, the court refrained from examining other aspects of the case, as per Live Law.

The case originated from income tax searches conducted at Vijay’s residence in September 2015. Subsequently, an assessment order was passed in December 2017, and penalty proceedings under Section 271AAB(1) were initiated in December 2018.

The actor-turned-politician challenged the assessment before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), who partly ruled in his favour. The department later appealed before the ITAT, which also partly upheld its stand, including on certain expenses linked to Vijay’s fan association.