HC directs Sush to pay octroi for Land Cruiser

Mumbai, Oct 20: The Bombay High Court today directed Bollywood actress Sushmita Sen to pay Rs 2,16,998 as octroi for her Toyota Land Cruiser within three weeks to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

A division bench comprising Justices F I Rebeillo and A V Mohta also directed her to submit a bank guarantee of Rs 10 lakh, within three weeks, towards the penalty for not paying octroi, since May 2005, when she took possession of the vehicle.

The court has also held that the guarantee, which will be in favour of the BMC, shall not be encashed without the permission of the court.

The court further directed BMC to issue a show cause notice to Sen as to why she should not be charged penalty, ten times more than the octroi, as per rules amounting to Rs 23 lakhs with the basic octroi. The court has directed BMC to hear Sen and then take appropriate action as per law.

The Land Cruiser costing about USD 6,000 while the octroi was to be charged at two percent of the cost amounting to Rs 2,16,989.

UNI