The Madras High Court stayed an order passed by a single-judge bench which had reprimanded actor Vijay for seeking an exemption of the payment of entry tax on his imported luxury car, a Rolls Royce Ghost. The single-judge bench had passed a scathing order against Vijay, who had filed an appeal in the High Court challenging the levying of entry tax on the Rolls Royce, and ordered him to pay Rs 1 lakh as a fine. Vijay then moved the high court again with an appeal against the ‘harsh’ order.
After hearing the case, a bench comprising Justices M Duraiswamy and R Hemalatha has now stayed the previous order. The actor’s counsel had submitted that the previous order contained “adverse remarks which created negative publicity” for the actor. The bench, which also stayed the Rs 1 lakh fine, has asked Vijay to pay the entire entry tax amount in the meantime. The court has given Vijay a week’s time to pay the balance of the entry tax and directed the tax department to issue a demand challan to Vijay in a week.
Last week, Justice SM Subramaniam of the Madras High Court had criticised Vijay for challenging the levying of entry tax and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on him, in addition to ordering him to pay the tax amount. Upset with the court’s remarks, Vijay moved the High Court again, not against the payment of tax, but against the observations made against him.
