Days after Tamil actor Vijay faced the heat of the Madras High Court for seeking a tax exemption for his imported luxury car, top actor Dhanush has now invited the court’s wrath over a similar plea pending since 2015. The court said that “even a milk vendor and a daily wage labourer are paying taxes for every litre of petrol they buy”. The court not only refused to allow Dhanush to withdraw the plea seeking exemption from entry tax for his Rolls Royce car imported from the UK, but it also censured him for failing to clear the dues even after the issue was settled by the Supreme Court in 2018. When the plea came up for hearing, the actor’s counsel sought permission to withdraw the plea and informed that he had paid 50 per cent of the tax and was willing to pay the rest. Justice S M Subramaniam said, “If your intentions are genuine, you should have paid the tax at least after the Supreme Court settled the issue in 2018.” “But now after the high court listed the matter for passing the order, you are seeking to withdraw.You are going to drive the luxury car on the roads laid using the taxpayers' money. Even a milk vendor and a daily wage labourer are paying taxes for every litre of petrol they buy. No such person approaches the high court seeking exemption from such taxes. At least I have not seen such a plea in my experience,” the judge said. “Are you aware that there is an Act called the ‘Vexatious Litigation Act’. Due to such pending petitions, the High Court is unable to allot time to decide genuine issues,” Justice Subramaniam said. The court also directed the commercial tax officer concerned to be present in court with a demand for the pending tax to be paid by the actor by Thursday afternoon and adjourned the hearing. A larger bench had stayed a fine of Rs 1 lakh by the same judge against actor Vijay on the basis of a promise that the actor will pay the remaining amount.
