NEWS

Income Tax department seals SRK's Alibaugh farmhouse

31st January 2018

The Income Tax department had a legal take on Shah Rukh Khan's lavish Alibaugh farmhouse under the new Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amended Act, 2016 as per the two senior tax officials familiar with the development. According to Income tax department reports, SRK made an application for purchase of agriculture land for farming in Alibaug through Deja Vu Farms but immediately altered the land into a farmhouse for personal use. This, the tax authority said, was a "Benami Transaction" under Section 2 (9) of the Act.

The tax authority alleged that Deja Vu Farms acted as Benamidar for Mr. Khan. Specifically, a benami transaction means an illegal transaction in which property is transferred to one person for a consideration paid or provided by another person.

Income Tax department threw notice via Email, text message and phone calls to the official spokesperson of Red Chillies Entertainment but they didn't receive any response. The tax department alleged that Deja Vu Farms which was purchased for agriculture purpose had so far not shown any income from the farming activity but instead built a lavish farm-house for personal use. Under Maharashtra's Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, it is illegal to transfer agriculture land to non-agriculture users without taking the permission of either the district collector or the state government. 

Further claims state that unsecured loans of Rs 8.4 crore from SRK were made for the purchase of land in Alibaug via Deja Vu farms Pvt Ltd. However, Deja Vu directors Ramesh Chibba, Savita Chibba and Namita Chibba are Shah Rukh Khan's father-in-law, mother-in-law and sister-in-law. Hence there won't be much trouble for Shah Rukh Khan as the directors are relatives of the actor.

However, Shah Rukh has a chance to state his arguments on the provisional attachment. In case the authority confirms the attachment, SRK can then challenge the order before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal. As per the reports Khan is alleged to be benamidar in this case and the charges for a guilty benamidar is rigorous imprisonment up to seven years and a fine of up to 25 percent of the exact market value of the property.

Tags: Shah Rukh Khan,