Grasim Industries gets Rs 8,334-crore income tax demand

NEW DELHI: Grasim Industries Ltd on Friday said the income tax department has raised a demand of Rs 8,334 crore on the company as capital gains tax with regard to sale of shares in a group firm. The Aditya Birla Group firm added that it would take “appropriate action” against the tax demand.

Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax (DCIT) has raised a demand for the assessment year 2018-19, Grasim Industries said in a regulatory filing.

This is related to the scheme of Grasim Industries’ merger with Aditya Birla Nuvo and Aditya Birla Financial Services.

The company said it would “take appropriate action against the said Order which it believes is against the spirit of tax laws.”

Earlier, the DCIT had sought dividend distribution tax for the same deal in 2019, which was stayed by the Bombay High Court.

DCIT has likewise imposed a capital gain tax on the value of shares, without considering that the shares were issued to the shareholders pursuant to the scheme of arrangement and no consideration was received by the company which could be subjected to tax, Grasim Industries noted.

“As a corollary to the earlier order, the DCIT has valued the shares issued by the Resulting Company (Aditya Birla Capital Limited) at Rs 24,037 Crore as the sale consideration for transfer of undertaking and has made the addition of capital gains of Rs 22,772 Crore to the income of the Company as part of scrutiny assessment for the AY 2018-19 and has passed draft assessment order on 30th September 2021.

“Based on the draft Order, demand for the AY 2018-19 is estimated at Rs 8,334 Crore, including interest and excluding any penalty proceedings,” the filing said.

In September 2017, the Ahmedabad bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had approved the merger of Aditya Birla Nuvo (ABNL) with Grasim Industries, to be followed by the listing of Aditya Birla Financial Services Ltd (ABFSL).

Grasim Industries, flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, is a diversified player with a presence across sectors.

It is a leading global producer of Viscose Staple Fibre (VSF) and the largest Chlor-Alkali, linen and insulators player in India.

Through its subsidiaries UltraTech Cement and Aditya Birla Capital, it is also India’s largest cement producer and a leading diversified financial services player.