Big relief for Aishwarya Rai Bachchan: Actress wins Rs 4 crore tax battle against...

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan won a Rs 4 crore tax case against the Income Tax Department, with the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Mumbai ruling in her favour.  The actress had declared a total income of Rs 39 crore for the Assessment Year 2022-23, and had investments in tax-free assets worth Rs 449 crore. However, her tax case came under scrutiny, and she was served a notice from the Income Tax Department. Although she provided clarifications, the tax assessing officer rejected some expenses related to exempt income, citing Section 14A. 

What is the case?

On October 22, 2022, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan declared a total income of Rs 39 crore for the Assessment Year 2022-23. She had voluntarily made a disallowance of Rs 49 lakh, despite not incurring expenses for earning exempt income. This relates to Section 14A of the Income-tax Act, 1961, which prevents taxpayers from claiming deductions on expenses related to tax-exempt income.

The assessing officer increased Aishwarya's assessed income to Rs 43.44 crore, applying Rule 8D and disallowing Rs 4.60 crore. Her representative argued her calculation was incorrect, and the tribunal agreed, stating the disallowance was "without any basis" and deleted the excess disallowance. The ITAT ruled in her favour, dismissing the revenue's appeal.

Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court had granted interim protection to actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in a personality rights case,

Aishwarya Rai on work front

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's most recent film was Mani Ratnam's period drama Ponniyin Selvan: II, released in April 2023. Directed by Mani Ratnam, she played a critically acclaimed dual role as the manipulative Pazhuvoor Queen Nandini and her deaf and mute mother, Mandakini Devi (also known as the "Oomai Rani"). As of November 2025, she has not announced any new, upcoming film projects. 

She recently walked the ramp at the L’Oréal Paris Fashion Week in a striking indigo outfit adorned with diamond embellishments designed by Manish Malhotra.