HUL Pays Rs 192.55 Cr In TDS Dispute

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) reported on 2 December that it has complied with an order from the Income Tax assessing officer by paying Rs 192.55 crore, representing 20 per cent of the total demand of Rs 962.75 crore. The tax dispute pertains to a tax deduction at source (TDS) issue related to a Rs 3,045-crore payment made for acquiring intellectual property rights for India HFD from entities within the GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Group.

In a regulatory filing, HUL said, "The company has made a payment of Rs192.55 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."

The demand includes Rs 329.33 crore in interest and arises from the alleged non-deduction of TDS on the remittance, as per the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961. HUL has appealed the assessment order with the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals), Mumbai and requested a stay on both 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.