Shah Rukh Khan In A Legal Mess Regarding His Alibaug Farmhouse

The Income Tax department has provisionally attached the Alibaug farmhouse of actor Shah Rukh Khan under the new Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amended Act, 2016. According to the department Shahrukh Khan while acquiring the Déjà Vu farms, had applied for it as a purchase for the purpose of agriculture in Alibaug, but subsequently converted the land into a farmhouse for his personal use. The tax authority has alleged Khan as a benamidar in case of Deja Vu Farms.

Under the Act, a benami transaction means any transaction in which property is transferred to one person for a consideration paid or provided by another person. The Act provides for provisional attachment and subsequent confiscation of benami properties, whether movable or immovable. It also allows for prosecution of the beneficial owner, the benamidar and the abettor to benami transactions, which may result in rigorous imprisonment up to seven years and a fine of up to 25 percent of the fair market value of the property.

The authorities tried contacting Red Chillies owned by Khan but with no response from their side.

According to the tax department, Shahrukh in his tax return has not shown any income from farming activity on his Déjà vu farm and had also taken unsecured loans of Rs 8.4 crore for the purchase of this land in Alibaug.

Khan will be given a chance to present his arguments on the provisional attachment to, the adjudicating authority of Income Tax. If found guilty by the adjudicating authority of Income Tax, Khan can challenge the order before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal.

Ministry of Corporate Affairs states that Gauri Khan’s father Ramesh Chibba, her mother Savita Chibba and her sister Namita Chibba are the directors of Deja Vu Farms.

Added to this a complaint was also filed at a Mumbai police station, alleging that Khan had violated the Maharashtra Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act — it bars transfer of agriculture land to a non-agriculturist without the permission of the collector or state government.