DNA
 
Mumbai, May 11: The BMC has directed actress Sushmita Sen to pay a penalty of Rs 25 lac for deliberate evasion of octroi duty while importing her Toyota Land Cruiser.

The civic body has given Sen 15 days to appeal against the order, which it passed last month.

Joint Municipal Commissioner Satish Bhide confirmed that Sen had been asked to pay a penalty of Rs 25 lac, which is more than 10 times the duty on the vehicle.

“We considered the merits of the case before imposing the penalty,” he said. “But the matter is in court and we don’t want to comment on it.” Sen had challenged the levy of octroi and penalty by the BMC in the Bombay high court in October 2006.

The court had then directed the actress to pay the duty, Rs 2.17 lac, to the BMC. She agreed to pay the duty but sought exemption from the penalty, saying the previous owner of the vehicle should have paid it.

The court asked the BMC to hear Sen’s plea on the penalty and told the actress to deposit a bank guarantee for Rs 10 lac in the meanwhile. The BMC will have to seek the court’s permission to encash the bank guarantee.

Sen again challenged a show-cause notice issued to her by the BMC on December 5, 2006, saying it was perverse as it purported to ‘convict’ her for evading tax.

Her application will be heard on June 12.