CHENNAI: If the outstanding Income Tax and Wealth dues, including interest, amounting to nearly Rs 20 crore, are not cleared, steps will be taken to auction properties attached to the late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, the I-T department informed the Madras High Court.
The Income Tax Department had issued a notice to Deepa, who has been declared a legal heir, directing her to pay Rs 13 crore towards alleged tax arrears.
Challenging the demand, Deepa filed a writ petition before the Madras High Court. Another legal heir, Deepak, was also impleaded as a party to the proceedings.
When the matter came up for hearing before Justice C Saravanan, Deepa's counsel submitted that the Income Tax Department had initially issued notices claiming tax arrears of Rs 36 crore and subsequently issued a revised demand notice seeking payment of Rs 13 crore.
The petitioner was willing to pay the amount, provided the Department communicated the correct and final tax liability. Recording the submissions, the learned Judge directed the Income Tax Department to file a detailed counter-affidavit. Asking the department to file a detailed counter-affidavit explaining the arrears, the HC stayed the recovery proceedings.
The Department filed its counter-affidavit stating that as of January 31, 2026, the Income Tax arrears, along with interest, stood at Rs 9.17 crore, while the Wealth Tax arrears amounted to Rs 11.8 crore.
It stated that Deepak, declared as one of the legal heirs, had undertaken to pay the sum of Rs 6.75 crore in 6 equal monthly instalments and had already remitted Rs 1.12 crore.
The Department also pointed out that several properties belonging to Jayalalithaa had been attached during her lifetime for recovery of tax dues and warned that if the outstanding amounts are not paid, legal action would be initiated to auction the attached properties.
The case was adjourned for further hearing on February 18.