Tax raids: Film Federation of India mulling legal route

Officials from the Directorate General of Central Excise (Intelligence) had conducted raids at the offices and houses of more than 50 producers including Lingusamy’s Thirupathi Brothers and Sundar C’s Avni Cinemax on Tuesday. 

They inspected the premises of Aadhi Bhagavan producer J Anbazhagan and Lyca Productions, producer of the upcoming Rajini-starrer 2.0 among others.

Sources in the South Indian Film Producers’ Council  confirmed the raids on Wednesday, “Over 50 producers and distributors have been asked to appear at the Directorate General of Central Excise (Intelligence) in Besant Nagar. They were raided on suspicion of service tax evasion,” sources disclosed. However, no specific date for the appearance was set. 

The Film Federation of India has also decided to take up the issue legally, it is learnt. It may be recalled that similar raids were conducted at the houses of film personalities a few days ahead of Deepavali last year.