Searches by officials from the Income Tax department at actor Vijay's residence in Neelankarai in Chennai concluded on Thursday evening. Sources in the department while recovering nothing significant from his property, also stated that the actor had paid the necessary taxes for the salaries that he had received for both Bigil and Master.
"For Bigil, he received Rs 50 crore as salary and for Master he received Rs 80 crore. For both films, Vijay has paid the necessary taxes," said a senior official in the I-T department.
Hours before this final revelation, the department had arrived at the actor's residence to remove prohibition orders.
Following reports of 'another search' at Vijay's property, the department clarified saying, “This is not a raid or search. During the search last month, we sealed certain rooms, draws and lockers. We are in the process of removing the seal.”
Last month, I-T officials arrived on the sets of Vijay's upcoming film Master to question him. They took him from Neyveli in Cuddalore district to his residence for questioning over his earnings from his last release, Bigil. The sudden inquiry saw fans alleging political motives to the department's action.
Along with Vijay, the department also conducted searches at properties of the AGS group which was bank-rolling the film and on the properties of film financier Anbu Chezhiyan. Unaccounted cash worth Rs 77 crore was seized from film financier Anbu Chezhiyan’s properties and a large number of documents, promissory notes and post-dated cheques taken as collateral security were also recovered.
Officials also searched 38 premises of the AGS group across Chennai and Madurai. According to a press release from the department, the concealment, in this case, is likely to exceed Rs 300 crore.
I-T officials began searches on financier Anbu Chezhiyan's properties on February 5. They also conducted searches in over 20 locations related to the AGS Group, which includes AGS Cinemas and AGS Entertainment that produced Vijay’s 2019 film Bigil.
In a press release on February 5, the department had said that the common thread between all entities they were probing (producer, actor, distributor and financier), was the success of a recent film (Bigil) which had a box office collection of Rs 300 crore.
As far as Vijay is concerned, his investment in immovable properties and remuneration from the production firm for his movie, became the subject matter of investigation.