Amitabh Bachchan gets apex court notice over crorepati income

Actor Amitabh Bachchan will have to explain how the income-tax authorities had claimed that he owed Rs1.66 crore towards earning by staging the quiz show, Kaun Banega Crorepati – II, in 2002-2003.

The Supreme Court issued Bachchan a notice on a lawsuit filed by tax authorities, challenging a Bombay high court judgment of last year. The high court granted relief to Bachchan by dismissing the tax department’s appeal to reopen assessment proceedings for financial year 2002-03.

In October 2002, Bachchan filed returns showing income of Rs 14.99 crore for 2002-03. On March 31, 2003, he filed revised returns, declaring total income for 2002-03 in which he claimed expenses at 30% ad hoc amounting to Rs6.31 crore, showing his income at Rs8.11 crore.

However, before assessment for 2002-03 was done, he sent a letter on March 13, 2004, withdrawing the revised returns with his claim of 30% deduction. In March 2005, a tax officer completed assessment for 2002-03, determining the actor’s income at Rs56.41 crore. A year later, the department sent Bachchan a notice, seeking to reopen the assessment proceedings.

The core issue before the apex court will be to judge whether the tax department’s appeal to reopen /reassess tax return of 2002-03 was like an attempt to achieve something indirectly as it could not be done directly.