Anushka Sharma, the renowned actor, has appealed to the Bombay High Court against the orders of the Sales Tax department claiming payment of dues. The two orders, which were presented by the deputy commissioner of Sales Tax, concerned the assessment years of 2012-13 and 2013-14 under the Maharashtra Value Added Tax Act. On Thursday, a division bench of Justices Nitin Jamdar and Abhay Ahuja ordered the sales tax department to reply to the actor’s petitions and established February 6 as the date of the next hearing.
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Anushka Sharma has asked the court to cancel and revoke the decisions taken by the Sales Tax department. She has submitted four appeals for the assessment years 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16.
Source: Google, Anushka Sharma
Last week, Anushka Sharma filed petitions with the High Court after it refused to consider a plea presented by her taxation consultant Shrikant Velekar which contested orders from the Sales Tax department in December of 2022. The HC commented that there was no reason why the plaintiff could not submit the petitions herself. The contracts between Anushka, her agent Yashraj Films Pvt Ltd, and the producers/event organisers stated that she carried out performances in films and at award ceremonies.
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The assessing officer charged sales tax not on the amount paid for the film but on endorsement products and hosting at award functions, claiming that Sharma had transferred her performer’s rights, according to the pleas. For the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 fiscal years, the sales tax demand including interest was ₹1.2 crore on ₹12.3 crore and ₹1.6 crore on nearly ₹17 crore, respectively. The sales tax department issued the orders between 2021 and 2022. In her petitions, the actor stated that there was no option to appeal to the appellate authority unless 10% of the disputed tax was paid.
Source: Google
The petitions argued that the assessing officer had erred in claiming that by endorsing products and attending award ceremonies, the petitioner had obtained copyrights and either sold or transferred them. The pleas maintained that the producer is the owner of all video copyrights and they never transfer.
The pleas argued that unless it is proved that a sale of goods (tangible or intangible) has taken place, sales tax cannot be imposed. Sharma further explained that an actor who appears in a movie should not be referred to as a creator or producer of the film, and thus does not possess the copyrights for the movie.
Sharma argued that unless proof of a sale of goods (whether tangible or intangible) is present, sales tax cannot be applied. He also stated that an actor who appears in a movie should not be considered a creator or producer of the film, and therefore does not own the copyright for it.
Source: Google, Anushka Sharma
Anushka Sharma, who has made a name for herself in films such as PK, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Sultan, and Zero, stated in her plea that performer’s rights are meant to safeguard the interests of the actor and cannot be transferred or sold.