MAM
BharatPe reaches out to merchants with its new spots
NEW DELHI: BharatPe, has launched its TV campaign starring ‘Team BharatPe’ with 11 Cricket stars. The TVC series has been directed by ace Bollywood director, Puneet Malhotra, and communicates the message ‘Hum Hai Team BharatPe – Jo Desh Ke Har Dukandaar Ke Saath Hai Khade’. This is the first time that a new age FinTech company has rolled out a TV campaign with 11 top cricket stars as its brand ambassadors. Team BharatPe includes Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina, Shreyas Iyer, Prithvi Shaw, Sanju Samson, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Shubhman Gill.
The company is set to redefine the financial services landscape with its four TV advertisements designed to drive awareness around BharatPe’s range of financial products for small shop owners across India, including QR based payment acceptance, no collateral loans, card payment machine with 0% transaction fee, and the exciting loyalty program. The new campaign will feature across channels – TV, Print, Radio, digital and will run throughout the cricket and festive season.
BharatPe group president Suhail Sameer said, “BharatPe has been the flagbearer of disruptive marketing. Last year, we created immense brand recall and the merchant connect with Salman Khan as our brand ambassador. Cricket is a great unifier and hence, for this year’s campaign, we decided to build our own team of cricket stars to reach out to merchants and showcase how our range of financial products can help scale their business.”
BharatPe head – brands and commerce Subhasis Beura said, “We will be rolling out a series of 4 TV ads across channels in the coming days. We are hopeful that this campaign will not only help us engage better with our existing merchants but also enable us to reach out to a wide range of prospective merchants across the country. Our TV campaign is well-timed as the merchants are gearing up to shed the impact of COVID and make the most of the festive season. This is timed to catch the cricket fever and the restart of cricket for Team India.”
BharatPe AVP marketing Abhishek Shah said, “Cricket is an ‘unrivalled’ communication platform in reach, engagement, and therefore, impact. We have always connected with small merchants through authentic, credible communication by keeping it light and fun like in case of the last year’s campaign with Bollywood superstar, Salman Khan. The objective of the new campaign is to build demand for our products and services and to humanize the brand. The campaign will serve as a quirky reminder to team up with BharatPe to grow your business.”
Delhi based creative & digital agency ArtE MediaTech facilitated the campaign shoot across two countries and five states.
Brands
Jubilant FoodWorks faces Rs 47.5 crore GST demand, plans appeal
Tax authorities flag alleged misclassification of restaurant services
MUMBAI:Â 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.
