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Anushka Sharma: With HC nudge, Anushka Sharma to resort to alternate remedy first | India News
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MUMBAI: After arguing for a while, when the Bombay high court said it would reject her plea as it involves questions of facts and law which ought to be argued in appeal before appellate body under Maharashtra Value Added Tax Act, counsel for Actor Anushka Sharma said she will exercise her alternate remedy.
Her remedy would involve her now going in appeal before a joint commissioner (appeals), MVAT and depositing 10 percent of the tax demand made on her, to be heard. The tax demand is in excess of Rs 2 crore.
The Actor, 34, had filed petitions to challenge a March 2021 order to pay dues of ₹1.23 crore for assessment year 2012-13 under the MVAT Act and in all challenged similar orders for three assessment years. She has “not sold ‘copy right’ and hence sales tax on it cannot be levied’’ her petition argued and sought that the HC quash the assessment orders.
On Thursday her counsel Deepak Bapat submitted before a bench of Justices Nitin Jamdar and Abhay Ahuja that “the tax can be levied only if established that her performance are her copyrights.’’ He said she held performance rights but under the definition of copyright—a bundle of rights vesting in a creator of original work including literary, artistic works—under the agreements executed with her talent manager it did not amount to copyright.
The bench said, “when it entails factual enquiry, interpretation of agreement is all question of facts and enquiry has to be done in the statutory appeal remedy that law provided,” The HC said, else everyone would come to the HC straight away on facts of each case adding whether or not the interpretation given by the State in its reply is correct or not will have to be seen.
The State Sales Tax, Large Taxpayers department on Wednesday had sought dismissal of her petition and said should under the law first go before the appeal body—the joint commissioner—as provided by law and can invoke jurisdiction of HC right away only if exceptional circumstances are made out. There were no such exceptions in her case, said the State and also said under the Copyrights Act she was the first holder of copyright in her artistic performances which she transferred—amounting to a sale and hence she was justified in asking to pay the VAT.
“Anushka Sharma is Actor by profession. A Copyright is created in her every artistic performance, which is video recorded by various clients and used for commercial purposes… like advertisement, entertainment etc. during the period of agreement,’’ the State affidavit submitted by state lawyer Jyoti Chavan had said.
The HC however, kept open all issues her counsel Bapat raised on the interpretation of ‘copyright’ under the tax statute and that she held no such intellectual property right in the agreements that the department took action on.
Her remedy would involve her now going in appeal before a joint commissioner (appeals), MVAT and depositing 10 percent of the tax demand made on her, to be heard. The tax demand is in excess of Rs 2 crore.
The Actor, 34, had filed petitions to challenge a March 2021 order to pay dues of ₹1.23 crore for assessment year 2012-13 under the MVAT Act and in all challenged similar orders for three assessment years. She has “not sold ‘copy right’ and hence sales tax on it cannot be levied’’ her petition argued and sought that the HC quash the assessment orders.
On Thursday her counsel Deepak Bapat submitted before a bench of Justices Nitin Jamdar and Abhay Ahuja that “the tax can be levied only if established that her performance are her copyrights.’’ He said she held performance rights but under the definition of copyright—a bundle of rights vesting in a creator of original work including literary, artistic works—under the agreements executed with her talent manager it did not amount to copyright.
The bench said, “when it entails factual enquiry, interpretation of agreement is all question of facts and enquiry has to be done in the statutory appeal remedy that law provided,” The HC said, else everyone would come to the HC straight away on facts of each case adding whether or not the interpretation given by the State in its reply is correct or not will have to be seen.
The State Sales Tax, Large Taxpayers department on Wednesday had sought dismissal of her petition and said should under the law first go before the appeal body—the joint commissioner—as provided by law and can invoke jurisdiction of HC right away only if exceptional circumstances are made out. There were no such exceptions in her case, said the State and also said under the Copyrights Act she was the first holder of copyright in her artistic performances which she transferred—amounting to a sale and hence she was justified in asking to pay the VAT.
“Anushka Sharma is Actor by profession. A Copyright is created in her every artistic performance, which is video recorded by various clients and used for commercial purposes… like advertisement, entertainment etc. during the period of agreement,’’ the State affidavit submitted by state lawyer Jyoti Chavan had said.
The HC however, kept open all issues her counsel Bapat raised on the interpretation of ‘copyright’ under the tax statute and that she held no such intellectual property right in the agreements that the department took action on.
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