Mumbai: After Bollywood's leading ladies like Katrina Kaif and Priyanka Chopra found themselves at the receiving end of Income Tax (I-T) raids earlier this year, it is the turn of item girls and small-time actresses to face the heat.
Scores of these actresses have been found to have evaded filing returns on their income after a background check was run on alleged defaulters, said a senior I-T official.
I-T officials have served notices to some actresses, which has resulted in a sudden spike for accountants
Some of the names include a controversial item girl, an actress who shot to fame through a reality show and several other item girls who are on the fringes of stardom.
The scrutiny of these actresses' sources of income by I-T officials revealed that they were paid large sums of money for stage shows and item songs.
The officials also found that the actresses did not file their returns despite producers deducting tax at source (TDS).
Notices to file returns have been served to some actresses by the department, which has resulted in a sudden spike in business for chartered accountants and tax consultants, especially in the Bandra-Andheri belt.
All the actresses who have not filed their returns are now flocking to these professionals to help them do so as soon as possible to avoid coming under the I-T scanner.
One such actress, who did not wish to be named, said, "We are keeping all the paperwork ready and are trying to file the returns at the earliest.
Having witnessed what has happened to some actresses, we don't want any problems from the I-T department later."
Rizwan Siddique, a renowned legal and tax consultant who has many film stars, television actors and event management companies as clients, said, "Yes, it is true that the I-T department and all other departments connected to revenue, like the Service Tax department, have been extremely active in their approach this year. Many different industries have come under their scanner and the film and television industry is just one of them."
Siddique, who also has several item girls as clients, added, "My varied client base, including reputed models and item girls, have become extremely cautious with the filing of their I-T returns.
They want it done on time and are maintaining all their books of accounts and relevant documents in a proper manner."
"This sudden seriousness is because a lot of them have either received notices from the I-T department or their returns are under scrutiny," he added.
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