Aishwarya Rai has been summoned by the customs department after a packet containing 23,000 euros (about Rs 13.5 lakhs) addressed to her Bandra residence in suburban Mumbai was found at the Mumbai airport.
The packet arrived from a gentleman in the Netherlands and was addressed to Aishwarya Rai. It had a declaration attached to it claiming that it contained electronic items, which was found true. But it also contained a white packet containing foreign currency.
Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Commissioner of Customs (Import) A K Prasad said, "We have called Ms Rai to our office for questioning but no case has been registered in this matter so far. There is some misdeclaration, and we are trying to establish whether she (Rai) is aware of it or it's done without her knowledge."
The packet landed at the Foreign Post Office a month ago, Prasad added, saying that they started a preliminary inquiry after that. He did not divulge the identity of the sender.
Under the Customs Act, receiving an amount above Rs 5,000 by post is an offence which can attract a maximum punishment of three years in jail and fine, Prasad said. He said a case can be said to be registered in such a matter only when a show cause notice is issued. So far, no such notice has been issued to Rai, he said. There has been no communication from the actress in this regard, the customs official said. Prasad hoped Rai would be in the customs office sometime next week.
Prasad did not rule out that someone may have been involved to gain cheap publicity.
The customs department also did not rule out the possibility that the money may be a part of payment of Aishwarya's shows abroad.
"We have informed Aishwarya Rai's secretary Hari Singh about this incident," added Prasad.
Meanwhile, Hari Singh claimed that the parcel was 'news to me' in the morning. Later, he refused to answer calls.
What's surprising is that Ash, like Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan, is one of the highest tax payers of the country. According to a report, she paid about Rs 4 crore as taxes on earnings of Rs 15 crore in 2005.
In 2003, she paid taxes of Rs 2.45 crore on an income of Rs 6.25 crore.
With inputs from PTI