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    Anushka Sharma moves Bombay HC against sales tax order, court to hear plea on Feb 6

    Synopsis

    The HC had pulled up Sharma for filing petitions through her tax consultant instead filing it herself.

    Anushka Sharma
    The Bombay HC has asked the sales tax department to reply to Sharma's petition within three weeks on her plea.
    The Bombay High Court on Thursday agreed to hear Anushka Sharma's petition challenging a notice issued against her by the sales tax department for the recovery of tax for the years 2012-2013 and 2013-2014.

    The HC had pulled up the Bollywood actress last month for filing two petitions against the notice through her tax consultant instead filing it herself. The Bombay HC has asked the sales tax department to reply to Sharma's petition within three weeks on her plea.

    The court will now hear the matter on February 6.

    Sharma had filed two pleas through her taxation consultant Shrikant Velekar against orders asking her to pay due for 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 assessment years which was passed by the Deputy Commissioner of Sales Tax, Mazgaon. However, the bench of Justices Nitin Jamdar and Gauri Godse slammed the actress for filing the petitions through atax consultant and not herself.

    "There's no reason shown as to why the petitioner cannot file these petitions on solemn affirmation," the bench said in the December 15 order.

    The 34-year-old actress then withdrew the pleas that were filed through her consultant and filed the new pleas under her own name.

    According to Sharma's petitions, she performed in films and at award ceremonies as a performer as part of a tri-party agreement with her agent, Yashraj Films Pvt Ltd and producers/event organisers.

    However, the assessing officer levied sales tax not on film consideration but on product endorsements and anchoring at award functions holding that Sharma had transferred her performer's rights, the pleas said.

    Sharma, known for films like 'PK', 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi', 'Sultan' and 'Zero’, claimed that the assessing officer had “erroneously” held that by endorsing products and remaining present at award functions, she had acquired copyrights and sold/transferred the same.

    The pleas contended that the copyrights of videos always remain with the producer who is the owner of the same.
    Sharma said an actor who has performed a role in a movie cannot be called a creator or producer of the film and hence does not own copyrights of the film.

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