Brands
Cannes Lions awards lifetime achievement to Piyush & Prasoon Pandey
MUMBAI: Ogilvy South Asia executive chairman and creative director Piyush Pandey and film director Prasoon Pandey will both be honoured with the Cannes Lions’ Lifetime Achievement Award, the Lion of St Mark.
In an email addressed to Piyush and Prasoon Pandey, Ascential Events CEO Philip Thomas wrote, “Next year we would like to honour you both, as two brothers who have changed the face of creativity in India and far beyond.”
Piyush Pandey says, “This is a huge, huge honour. I am humbled and immensely grateful to the people of India. It is the richness and diversity of this nation that gave my brother and me the opportunity to learn and create good work. I am also indebted to my clients, my colleagues and Ogilvy who gave me the support and the freedom to fly. Thank you, Cannes Lions, for giving every creative professional in my country a reason to believe that if Prasoon and Piyush can do it, so can they.”
In addition to the innumerable accolades that have been awarded to Piyush, he is the first Asian to be jury president of the Cannes Film Festival in 2004, in 2012 he was bestowed with the lifetime achievement award from CLIO, the lifetime achievement award by AAAI and in 2016 he became the first person ever in the advertising and communication sector to receive the Padma Shri, an award conferred by the president of India.
The Lion of St Mark is the highest honour that the Cannes International Festival of Creativity bestows on creative geniuses within the communications industry. Previous recipients have included David Droga, John Hegarty, Lee Clow and Marcello Serpa, Dan Wieden, Joe Pytka and Bob Greenberg.
This is the 8th Lion of St Mark awarded by the Cannes Film Festival. The award will formally be given to Piyush and Prasoon Pandey at the Cannes Festival on 22 June 2018. They will be the first Asians to receive the Lion of St Mark.
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.
