New Delhi: Actor Tapsee Pannu Saturday addressed the allegations swirling over the Income Tax raids against her, suggesting that they were outlandish.
The actor, along with filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, was raided by the I-T department Wednesday over allegations of tax evasion, with both being questioned by I-T officials in Pune. The I-T Department conducted searches in as many as 30 locations in Mumbai and Pune.
On Saturday, she took aim at the raids.
“Three days of intense search. Of three things primarily: 1. The keys of the ‘alleged’ bungalow that I apparently own in Paris. Because summer holidays are around the corner,” Pannu said in a Twitter thread.
“The ‘alleged’ receipt worth 5 crores to frame n keep for future pitching coz I’ve been refused that money before,” she added.
“My memory of 2013 raid that happened with me according to our honourable finance minister. P.S- “not so sasti” anymore,” she said in her concluding tweet.
3 days of intense search of 3 things primarily
1. The keys of the “alleged” bungalow that I apparently own in Paris. Because summer holidays are around the corner— taapsee pannu (@taapsee) March 6, 2021
Response to Finance Minister
The concluding tweet in Pannu’s thread appeared to be aimed at Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman who had Friday suggested that Pannu and Kashyap had been raided in 2013 as well.
“First of all, I am not commenting on any A or B individual. (But) since the names were taken, (I want to say) the very same names were raided in 2013,” Sitharaman said at IWPC (Indian Women’s Press Corps). “It wasn’t an issue (in 2013). It’s an issue now.”
“I am not commenting on a particular case. But if that relates to particular names I want to ask — should we raise questions whether there was a serious omission and commission or should we raise a question about ‘oh it’s happening now’?” the finance minister said. “Please look back. It happened in 2013.”
Issuing a statement on the raids Thursday, the tax department had said, “During the search, evidence of huge suppression of income by the leading film production (Kashyap’s venture) house compared to the actual box office collections has been unearthed. The company officials have not been able to explain the discrepancy of around Rs 300 crore.”
“Evidence related to manipulation and under-valuation of share transactions of the production house amongst the film directors and shareholders, having tax implication of about ₹350 crore has been found and is being further investigated,” it added.
It further said there was “evidence” of cash receipts worth Rs 5 crore by Pannu.
Also read: IT visit to Taapsee Pannu, Anurag Kashyap suspect. They are artists, not super-rich moguls