MAM
Big Bang Awards 2021 set for offline event on 8 April
Mumbai: After skipping the 2020 edition due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Ad Club Bangalore has announced that it will be holding the Big Bang Awards 2021 in an offline event on 8 April. The award ceremony will celebrate the Indian advertising and marketing fraternity and honor excellence in creative, media, digital and marketing.
The Big Bang Awards are sponsored by Meta and supported by Manorama Max, Manorama News, The Hindu, and some other media houses. The event will take place at Hotel Ritz Carlton in Bangalore.
Ad Club Bangalore is a three-decade-old advertising club, known as one of the oldest ad clubs in the country. The ad club started the Big Bang Awards two decades ago. Every year it includes a jury from the advertising, media, and marketing industry. However, this year the entire judging process was online due to the pandemic restrictions.
Sharing inside details, Ad Club Bangalore president Laeeq Ali told, “We received over 400 entries this year from agencies and clients across the country and decided to wait till April so we could kick-start our activities for the year with an offline event.”
The awards have separate categories for consumer, B2B, media, entertainment and sports, brand and corporate communication and social causes. There is a separate category for healthcare and wellness covering Rx and OTC products.
“I have been involved with the Big Bang Awards for the last 20 years,” said Big Bang Awards chairperson Malavika Harita. “This year, we saw a lot of emerging creative, media and digital agencies with innovative and exciting ideas. Adding a category for marketing excellence rounded off the entire gamut of marketing activities covered.”
In order to pay homage to its late executive director Arvind Kumar, this year they have two special prizes for the best young media professional below 30 years and the best media team in his name. The MAA Group will be presenting the Ayaz Peerbhoy Award for the ‘Creative Agency of the Year’ as they do every year, said the statement.
Brands
Jubilant FoodWorks faces Rs 47.5 crore GST demand, plans appeal
Tax authorities flag alleged misclassification of restaurant services
MUMBAI: Jubilant FoodWorks Limited has landed in a tax tussle after receiving a GST demand of Rs 47.5 crore from the office of the additional commissioner of CGST and central excise in Thane, Maharashtra.
The order, issued under the provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, relates to an alleged incorrect classification of certain services under the category of restaurant services. According to the tax authorities, this classification resulted in a short payment of goods and services tax for the period between the financial years 2019-20 and 2021-22.
The demand includes Rs 47.5 crore in GST along with an equal amount as penalty, in addition to applicable interest. The order was received by the company on March 13, 2026.
In a regulatory filing to the BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited, the company said it disagrees with the order and believes its arguments were not adequately considered.
The company is preparing to challenge the decision and plans to file an appeal. It added that once the redressal process is complete, the demand is likely to be dropped.
Despite the sizeable figure attached to the notice, the company said it does not expect any material impact on its financials, operations or other activities.
The disclosure was signed by Suman Hegde, EVP and chief financial officer, who confirmed that the company received the order at 19:06 IST on March 13 and has already initiated steps to contest it.
The development places the quick service restaurant major in the middle of a tax debate that could hinge on how certain restaurant-linked services are classified under GST rules. For now, the company appears ready to take the matter from the tax office to the appeals desk.
