Hindustan Unilever Gets GST Demand For Nearly Rs 450 Crore

Hindustan Unilever Ltd. has received Goods and Services Tax demands from five states, amounting to nearly Rs 450 crore.

It includes tax demands of Rs 372.8 crore and a penalty of Rs 39.9 crore from the Joint Commissioner, CGST and Central Excise, Mumbai East, on salaries including allowances paid to expats, according to an exchange filing on Monday.

The other demands are from GST authorities in Bengaluru (Rs 8.9 crore and penalty of Rs 89 lakh), Kochi (Rs 8.6 crore and penalty of Rs 87 lakh), Guwahati (Rs 1.1 crore and penalty of Rs 11 lakh) and Haryana (Rs 12.9 crore and penalty of Rs 1.29 crore).

HUL said it expects no material impact on the financial, operation or other activities of the company. "These orders are currently appealable and we will make an assessment to exercise our right to appeal," the filing said.

Shares of Hindustan Unilever closed 0.29% lower at Rs 2,655.7 apiece on Monday ahead of the announcement, as compared with a 0.04% gain in the benchmark BSE Sensex.