It is not just the ladies in Bollywood that are under the Income Tax department’s eye. After Priyanka Chopra and Katrina Kaif’s rendezvous with the taxmen, it is now Shah Rukh Khan’s turn.
The income-tax department has moved the Bombay high court, challenging the Appellate Tribunal’s ruling which went in favour of Shah Rukh Khan, providing him tax relief for his membership at the Otter’s Club and the purchase of a BMW vehicle. Earlier, the I-T department had challenged Shah Rukh’s returns for the year 2002-03, when he had sought deduction of Rs. 15 lakh, paid as membership to the Otter’s Club, saying that the amount was paid for professional use. The assessing officer (AO) had rejected his claim, after which he had appealed to the Commissioner of Income-Tax (CIT).The commissioner, too, had ruled against him, saying the purpose of membership was not exclusively for business. Shah Rukh had then challenged the order before the Income-Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), which had ruled in his favour. A division bench of the high court will hear the matter after four weeks.