‘Welcome’ producer Firoz Nadiadwala gets 3-month rigorous imprisonment for TDS payment delay; calls matter 'sub judice'

Bollywood producer Firoz Nadiadwala has been sentenced to three-month rigorous imprisonment (RI) by a court in Mumbai for the delay in payment of Rs 8.56 lakh as tax deducted at source (TDS) for the fiscal year 2009-10. 

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Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate R S Sarkale recently found Nadiadwala guilty of committing offence under relevant provisions of the Income Tax Act and awarded him three months of rigorous jail term. 

The case of delay in payment of Rs 8.56 lakh TDS is related to the financial year 2009-10. 

A complaint against Nadiadwala, known for producing hit Hindi films like 'Hera Pheri' and 'Welcome', was registered by an income tax officer in March 2014. 

The officer alleged the film producer had not given the exact reason for not paying the TDS amount within the stipulated period. 

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When contacted, Nadiadwala declined to comment on the issue, saying the matter is sub judice.

Nadiadwala has been a producer in the industry for over two decades, with movies like ‘Ghar Ho To Aisa’ in the 90s to ‘Welcome Back’ in 2015 under his belt.  Apart from the aforementioned films, he is known to back several comedies, most of them featuring Akshay Kumar, like ‘Awara Paagal Deewana', ‘Deewane Huye Paagal', ‘Phir Hera Pheri' and ’Aan: Men at Work' and even other movies like ‘Aarakshan’ starring Amitabh Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Saif Ali Khan and Manoj Bajpayee. 

Out of the films he produced, ‘Hera Pheri’ starring Akshay, Suniel Shetty, Paresh Rawal is considered among the finest comedies in the history of Bollywood. The movie is a favourite for the meme-makers too and there are many of them on social media. That's the reason even the third installment in the franchise is being looked at with anticipation and reports surrounding it keep surfacing. 'Welcome’ also enjoys a similar following. 

His last production ‘Welcome Back’ had featured John Abraham, Shruti Haasan, Anil Kapoor, Paresh Rawal and Nana Patekar. The comedy, directed by Anees Bazmee, was a success, earning close to Rs 100 crore at the domestic box office. 

(With inputs from PTI)