MAM
AVOW onboards Sandeep Negi as associate director of sales, India
MUMBAI: Mobile OEM user acquisition specialist, AVOW has appointed Sandeep Negi as its new associate director of sales, India. Negi will lead all of AVOW’s business development initiatives in the country as part of the company’s domestic expansion plans while positioning AVOW as a household name in the mobile OEM marketing ecosystem in the region. He will operate out of AVOW’s branch office in Bengaluru, and become its fifth member in this local office.
Negi joins the company with 10-plus years of experience cutting across the agency, mobile, and online advertising arenas, with an extensive focus on international business development and global growth strategies. Prior to this, Negi had successful stints across some of India’s leading media companies, including Bennett Coleman and Co. (Times Group), Star TV Network (now part of Disney), and 9X Media. In his previous roles, Negi has played a pivotal role in assisting some of India’s most prominent players in the mobile app industry to access new markets & significantly scale their revenues.
Speaking on the new appointment, AVOW co-founder Ashwin Shekhar said, “We are pleased to have Sandeep on board in the senior management team. AVOW is on a hyper-growth path in the mobile OEM marketing space. Within a short period of two years since entering the Indian market, AVOW has serviced many leading industry players such as Amazon Prime, Navi, upGrad, Byju’s, Matrimony.com, MPL, and WazirX, among many others, offering incremental user growth and engagement for their mobile apps.”
“In line with our growth plans, we needed an experienced top management muscle to drive our expansion plans aggressively in India. Sandeep’s in-depth industry experience in business development, strategy, and strong expertise in driving growth are great value additions to AVOW and our team. He will play an important role in our efforts to educate mobile marketers and app developers about the benefits of mobile OEMs when integrated into their mobile marketing mix,” he added.
In his new role at AVOW, Negi said, “AVOW’s one-stop solution for mobile OEM aggregation is steadily growing its presence in the mobile app ecosystem in India. Strengthening the company’s status as the most viable and lucrative advertising alternative to traditional play stores will be on top of my agenda. We are witnessing an increased interest from players within the financial, health, edutech, gaming, and m-commerce sectors in this market.”
“Our aim will be to provide mobile app companies with a unique opportunity to access untapped mobile advertising inventory at scale and deliver a powerful consulting service by advising on how mobile marketers and app developers can best invest their marketing mix across alternative advertising channels for incremental user growth and engagement. I am delighted to be a part of AVOW’s growth trajectory in India and to be able to contribute to its mission,” he further said.
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.
