Huhtamaki India Faces GST Penalty, But Dividend Seekers are Eyeing the Fall
Huhtamaki India faced a demand from the Commissioner of CGST & Central Excise - Audit, Vapi, regarding alleged discrepancies in its GST input tax credits. The inquiry covered the five-year period from FY 2018-19 to FY 2022-23. Following the investigation, the authorities claimed that the company had incorrectly availed GST input tax credits, leading to a penalty of INR 1,27,841.
While no formal order or communication was issued, Huhtamaki, based on its discussions with the authorities, opted to make the required payment on September 18, 2024. The issues raised during the inquiry related to the excess GST credits claimed by the company, failure to reverse GST credits when required, and mismatches in the auto-populated GST details, which led to the discrepancies.
The financial impact of this inquiry totaled INR 15,87,969, which includes INR 8,52,272 in taxes, INR 6,07,855 in interest, and a penalty of INR 1,27,841. Despite these financial implications, Huhtamaki assured that the incident would not affect its broader financial or operational activities. The company addressed the issue promptly, avoiding any disruption to its business and ensuring compliance with the necessary regulations.
