Being an influencer with swarms of followers could give you a cult celebrity status. Or it could force you to pay taxes.

Influencers who flaunted their trips to exotic overseas locales and luxury shopping destinations on social media have now landed in hot water with the Income Tax department.

The I-T department has sent notices to 15 such influencers who have allegedly paid "substantially low" or no taxes despite being paid substantial amounts for product promotion on social media, The Economic Times reported on Thursday, citing an official in the know.

The 15 under the scanner include a high-profile fashion influencer, a lifestyle and fitness coach, travel influencers and one well-known for their posts on Bollywood. Three of these influencers did not file tax returns while the remaining grossly underreported their income, per the report.

According to a Mint report, the tax department is using data analytics to scan these influencers’ accounts to ascertain mismatches in their social status and the ITR filed.

The crackdown is not limited to these 15; thirty other influencers–across YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and other social blogging sites–are also under the scanner.

The rules: Under Section 194R of the Income-tax Act, 1961, social media influencers are liable to pay 10% tax deducted at source on freebies or any payment made in kind, if the value is above Rs 20,000. Influencers earning over Rs 20 lakh annually have to be registered with the goods and services law as their profession is classified under the Online Information and Database Access or Retrieval Services (OIDAR). These services attract 18% GST.

Under the radar: Last week, income tax officials conducted searches at the residences and offices of at least nine YouTubers in various parts of Kerala, including popular actor and content creator Pearle Maaney over similar misrepresentation of income.

Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has taken action against multiple "finfluencers" for market manipulation over the past few years, aiming to regulate the industry and safeguard investors' interests. (Read more: The unchecked rise of India’s ‘finfluencers’).