Vijay partially evaded income tax for 5 years: IT officials

Income tax officials, who raided his properties in Chennai on Wednesday and Thursday, have said that he has been partially evading payment of tax for the last five years.

Tamil superstar Vijay’s new adventure drama Puli may have released late on Thursday after initial hiccups, but the actor has enough trouble on his plate. Income tax officials, who raided his properties in Chennai on Wednesday and Thursday, have said that he has been partially evading payment of tax for the last five years.

Actor Vijay’s recent films have faced controversies days before their release, Puli being no exception. (ActorVijay/Facebook)

The taxmen also raided the houses of actors Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Nayanthara, producers PT Selva Kumar and Shibu Thameens and financier Ramesh of Vijay’s latest Tamil releases Puli.

Puli review: Vijay’s fantasy drama is a fantastic flop

“All of them including Vijay have been paying tax but not the full amount. The total tax evaded amount comes to about Rs 25 crore,” said a source from the income tax department.

“In our raid, cash and gold worth Rs 2 crore each was recovered,” he said. The other actors too have not been paying tax fully for the last two years. A total of over 30 places were raided in Chennai, Cochin and Hyderabad.