Hindustan Unilever pays Rs.192.55 crore in tax demand dispute; recovery proceedings deferred
Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) on Monday (December 2) said it has complied with the directive of the Income Tax assessing officer to pay Rs.192.55 crore, 20% of a total outstanding demand of Rs.962.75 crore. This stems from a dispute over tax deduction at source (TDS) related to a Rs.3,045-crore payment for acquiring India HFD intellectual property rights from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Group entities.
"The company has made a payment of Rs.192.55 crore on 28th November 2024 in compliance with the aforesaid direction. The payment was made pursuant to receipt of aforesaid amount under an indemnification claim as per the relevant Sale and Purchase Agreement and hence, doesn’t have any financial implications at this stage," Hindustan Unilever said in a regulatory filing.
The demand, which includes Rs.329.33 crore in interest, arose from alleged non-deduction of TDS during the remittance under the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961. HUL had appealed the assessment order with the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals), Mumbai, and sought a stay on the demand and penalty proceedings.
"...this is to inform that in view of the submission made by the Company, the Assessing Officer vide its Order dated 6th November 2024, directed the Company to make payment of 20 per cent of the total outstanding demand of Rs.962.75 crores on or before 30th November 2024 and kept the recovery proceedings in abeyance for the balance amount of the demand," HUL said.
