Brands
Lever, Colgate ads off air on main satellite channels over service tax issue
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: The deadline was 1 September. And true to the warning issued earlier, the top channels including Star, Sony and Zee TV have stopped airing ads of Hindustan Lever products as well as Colgate from yesterday. Reason: these are the two biggest advertisers who are still not adding the 5 per cent service tax (imposed by the government) in the final release order of ads. Nearly all the other main FMCG companies have fallen in line, ad and broadcasting industry sources say.
The broadcasters, including Doordarshan, under the aegis of Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), had decided that advertisements from those clients would not be accepted for airing from August-end where the 5 per cent service tax is not included.
Though HLL’s media buying agency Mindshare Fulcrum has been insisting that the service tax was being included in the final payment, the broadcasters’ stand has been contrary to this. Vikram Sakhuja MindShare Fulcrum South Asia managing director maintained that MindShare was following the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) directive on the matter. Sakhuja says: “In case the broadcaster requires that the final bill separates the service tax component and so long as the overall rate is part of the gross negotiated rate that we have reached with the broadcaster, then we are agreeable to that.” Sakhuja added that negotiations to sort out the matter were on and that he expected an amicable resolution to the whole issue.”
A senior executive of the IBF, whose present chairman is the chief executive of Prasar Bharati KS Sarma, today told indiantelevision.com that the advertising agencies and their clients have to fall in line as the broadcasters would not bear the additional burden of 5 per cent service tax.
Another senior industry source said other big FMCG clients like Procter & Gamble, Nestle, Coke, etc who had earlier not been willing to accept the IBF’s contention on the matter had come on board.
Two relatively smaller advertisers that are also being blacked out are SmithKline Beecham and Marico. The case of Pepsi is not clear still with a representative of one broadcaster saying they had agreed in principle though not signed on yet while another says Pepsi is also on the blacklist.
Still, not all broadcasters have promptly resorted to blacking out ads from certain companies. Prasar Bharati, for example, is still undecided on what course of action to take where defaulters are concerned though it had sent out a letter to all advertisers to this effect last week.
A senior Prasar Bharati officer told indiantelevision.com that Doordarshan is yet to decide on the future course of action, though other broadcasters may have started taking action. Moreover, Prasar Bharati, despite becoming an autonomous body, still works like a government body where snap decisions are rare. The top honchos of Prasar Bharati, it is learnt, were out of town.
But not all advertisers and their agencies have become the focal point of the controversy as one chief executive of a media company pointed out.
According to Haresh Chawla, CEO of Television Eighteen Ltd, which has a joint venture with CNBC Asia for running the CNBC India channel: “I don’t think everybody (ad agency and advertisers) is at fault. At least those who are advertising on CNBC India are including the 5 per cent service tax (with the ad release order). We have had no problem on this front.”
The issue of service tax has been a vexed one from the time former finance minister Yashwant Sinha had made an announcement to this effect in Budget speech a couple of years back.
While the broadcasting industry has maintained in several presentations to the government that the additional 5 per cent service tax may hamper the growth of the still-nascent broadcasting industry in India and that this burden should be borne by the advertising industry, the latter had been taken a different stand – why should the ad industry pay another 5 per cent service tax as it already pays the service tax which was imposed sometime in the mid-90s.
To pay nor not to pay, now, is the big question which is haunting some of the real biggies (and some not so big) of the ad industry.
Brands
Axis Bank named Official Banking Partner of DP World PGTI
Partnership supports all tournaments this season to grow professional golf in India.
MUMBAI: Axis Bank just teed up a hole-in-one partnership because when a bank sponsors golf’s biggest swing in India, even the fairways feel more financially secure. Axis Bank has been appointed Official Banking Partner of the DP World Professional Golf Tour of India (DP World PGTI), strengthening its commitment to sporting excellence and community engagement while backing the growth of professional golf across the country.
Under the partnership, Axis Bank will support all DP World PGTI tournaments this season, contributing to talent development, enhanced tournament experiences and wider fan engagement. The collaboration aligns the bank’s values of precision, discipline and trust with the Tour’s focus on performance and opportunity.
Axis Bank executive director Munish Sharda said, “We are pleased to partner with DP World PGTI as its Official Banking Partner. Golf embodies precision, discipline, and a pursuit of excellence qualities that strongly reflect who we are at Axis Bank. This association also strengthens our engagement with India’s growing premium customer segments, where the sport has a deep and enduring connect.”
Professional Golf Tour of India president Kapil Dev said, “We are extremely pleased to welcome Axis Bank as a Tour Partner of the DP World Professional Golf Tour of India. Partnerships of this stature play a vital role in strengthening the foundation of the Tour, enhancing opportunities for our players, and expanding the sport’s reach across the country.”
Professional Golf Tour of India CEO Amandeep Johl added, “Axis Bank’s strong legacy of excellence, innovation, and nationwide reach aligns perfectly with DP World PGTI’s goal to elevate professional golf in India and provide greater opportunities for our players.”
In a sport where every stroke counts and every partnership drives distance, Axis Bank isn’t just backing golfers, it’s investing in the fairway to future, turning India’s greens into a stage where precision meets passion and every drive has the power to inspire.
