Karan Johar's Dharma Productions exempt from tax amounting to Rs 7 cr by Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court recently dismissed an appeal filed by the Income Tax Department against Karan Johar's Dharma Productions regarding the cost of production declared for two films. Dharma claimed over Rs 7 crore as expenses, but would have had to pay tax on the amount if the court had ruled in favour of the IT department, writes Mumbai Mirror.

Karan Johar. AFP

The two cases were about Kaal and Dostana. For Kaal, the production house claimed Rs 2.67 crore for "positive prints and advertisements" and Rs 4.46 crore for advertising. The expenses in both cases were claimed as "cost of production", after the films received certification from the Central Board for Film Certification (CBFC). Mirror writes that the IT department believed expenses of such nature were not allowed.

The bench dismissed the appeal and said that even if the IT department was right that this money could not be claimed as "cost of production", another section allowed them to be claimed as "business expenses."

On the professional front, Johar has many big projects lined up. He is producing Student of the Year 2 with debutants Ananya Pandey and Tara Sutaria and the period drama Kalank, directed by Abhishek Varman. He will also direct the multi-starrer Takht.