The Supreme Court has agreed to examine if M/s AB Corp Ltd (ABCL) is liable to pay service tax for promoting brands through advertisements that featured Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan.
The actor’s wife and Rajya Sabha MP Jaya Bachchan is one of the directors in the ABCL.
On Monday, a bench of justices Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and MR Shah admitted an appeal by the service tax department against the 2019 order of the service tax appellate tribunal, observing that the matter will need examination.
“Okay, we will examine the matter. We are granting leave and will hear it later,” the bench told additional solicitor general (ASG) Vikramjit Banerjee, who appeared for the department. According to the department’s show cause notice issued in February 2005, ABCL is liable to pay ₹4.6 crore in tax after receiving ₹28.74 crore for the brand promotion service by engaging Bachchan for advertisements and activities between 2003-2005.