Thiruvananthapuram: Flamboyant Malayalam cine actor-turned-politician and member of parliament, Suresh Gopi is facing charges of evading state automobile registration tax by falsely showing a residence address in Puducherry at the time of buying a luxury car.
Puducherry is a union territory where taxes were considerably lower than in Kerala before the federal government rolled out the Goods and Services Tax earlier this year.
The crime branch of police has submitted a first information report regarding the alleged case of tax evasion by the actor using an allegedly false residence address. The crime branch has proposed detailed investigation into the matter.
The actor had been asked to produce the original documents that were given at the time of registering his luxury car in Puducherry in 2010, but officials were not convinced about the documents that he produced.
The contention of the state authorities is that by showing a ‘false’ address in Puducherry and registering his vehicle there, the Bharatiya Janata Party MP caused significant tax revenue loss to the state exchequer.
Local media reports indicate that the actor-politician is also facing fines for his vehicles over-speeding on Kerala roads a dozen times.
Besides the MP, the state authorities are also planning similar action against others from Kerala who have allegedly shown false addresses in Puducherry and registered their vehicles there, instead of in Kerala.
