

KOCHI: Film producer Antony Perumbavoor received a notice from the Income Tax (I-T) department, seeking clarification regarding his financial transactions, including overseas dealings.
In the notice, which was issued towards the end of last month, the department asked for an explanation regarding the Rs 2.5 crore reportedly given to actor Mohanlal in Dubai in 2022.
Antony was also directed to provide clarity about the financial transactions related to films like Lucifer, and Marakkar-Arabikadalinte Simham, and to submit a detailed response by the end of April.
Meanwhile, the I-T officials clarified this is part of a ongoing probe, following a series of raids conducted in 2022 at the residences and offices of several prominent film producers in Kerala and was not related to the Empuraan movie.
“There were inspections which had taken place at key production houses in December 2022. And now the assessment proceedings are on at Kochi. Generally, assessments for the block years take around three years to complete and there is nothing new in it,” said an officer with the ITD.