Bollywood stars fail to pay stamp duty : Happenings News : ApunKaChoice.Com


ApunKaChoice.Com	IndiaExpress.Com CricketZone.Com

RSS

HOME | SCOOP!! & NEWS | HAPPENINGS

Amitabh Bachchan

Bollywood stars fail to pay stamp duty
14th May 2007 09.00 IST
By Agencies

New segments brought under the Stamp Duty Act of Maharashtra have failed to realise any significant revenues for the state with many of them from Amitabh Bachchan to Preity Zinta not paying up, a top official said on Sunday.

Among the new segments brought under the Act were contracts entered into by shopping malls, film producers, brand ambassadors, mobile companies and advertising agencies, among others.

While a majority of mobile companies have paid stamp duty towards agreements entered into by them for erecting mobile towers on various buildings, other entities have not.

Rajesh Katkar, Collector of Stamps (Enforcement), said the government should have collected about Rs 50 crore by way of stamp duty through new segments. However, the actual realisation so far is only around Rs five-crore.

The penalty for not paying stamp duty on time is 2 per cent per month, which could go upto a maximum of 200 per cent of the original duty amount.

Among brand ambassadors who have yet not paid up are the likes of Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan , Aishwarya Rai , John Abraham , Saif Ali Khan , Kareena Kapoor , Priyanka Chopra and Preity Zinta.

Incidentally, the department can collect a maximum of Rs 10 lakh per contract signed by the film stars as brand ambassadors.

It is learnt that some of the stars have disputed the imposition of the levy on them. Ash has argued that the stamp duty should be collected from the company whose products she is endorsing.

However, Katkar said the stamp office asked Ash to send the agreements she has entered into with the companies to find out whether there is provision for it. However, she has not sent the agreements so far.

Interestingly, other stars like Hrithik Roshan , Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukherjee who also have acted as brand ambassadors for different companies have paid the stamp duty.

Related
Amitabh Bachchan
Preity Zinta
Abhishek Bachchan
Aishwarya Rai
John Abraham
Saif Ali Khan
Kareena Kapoor
Priyanka Chopra
Hrithik Roshan
Shah Rukh Khan
Rani Mukherjee