The Bombay High Court has dismissed Hindustan Unilever Ltd’s (HUL) appeal against an August 2024 Assessment Order that imposed a tax demand of Rs 962.75 crore. The company announced the development on September 24.
The tax demand was raised against HUL for non-deduction of Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) while making remittance payments related to its acquisition of brands from GSK Group entities. The payment pertained to the merger of GSK’s India brands with HUL, including Horlicks, Boost, Maltova, and Viva.
The petitioner, HUL, had filed a writ petition challenging the assessment order dated August 23, 2024, and consequently, the demand notice on the ground that at this stage the demand of tax would not cause any financial DEFAULT.
In fact, in December 2018, Unilever had reached a deal to acquire GSK’s Horlicks nutrition business; the move was to fortify its presence in the Indian market. Despite this recent setback, the company still claims that the demand will not have a significant consequence on its financials at this point in time.
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Source: Moneycontrol
News Desk
