Income tax attached Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan’s controversial farmhouse

The income-tax (I-T) department has provisionally attached actor Shah Rukh Khan’s farmhouse in Alibag, a beach town in Maharashtra.

The attachment notice was issued to Déjà Vu Farms under the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions (PBPT) Act in December.

Confirming the development, a senior I-T officer said under Section 24 of the Act, if the investigating officer believed that the person was benamidar, he (the officer) could issue the attachment notice to that person or the property’s beneficial owner (if his or her identity was known).

According to the law, the attachment of the property could be for at most 90 days from the date the notice was issued, he said. The circle rate of the attached property is Rs 146.7 million. However, the market price would be five times more, said another I-T official.

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Considered a luxury property, the farmhouse is spread over 19,960 square meters and has amenities such as a swimming pool and private helipad. An email sent to Khan’s company Red Chillies Entertainment and Kolkata Knight Riders’ chief executive officer on January 24 remained unanswered despite several reminders.

The major allegation against Khan is that he had applied for purchasing agricultural land for farming, but instead constructed a farmhouse there for personal use. “The said transaction falls under the definition of benami transaction as per the Section 2 (9) of the PBPT Act, where Déjà Vu Farms has acted as benamidar for the ultimate benefits of Khan.

Thus, the actor is a beneficiary for the said under the prescribed law,” said I-T investigation report, submitted to the adjudicating authority, while seeking provisional attachment.
Business Standard has reviewed the copy of the attachment and the investigation report.