MAM
Cleartrip makes slew of executive appointments amid 2022 growth plans
Mumbai: Online travel company Cleartrip on Monday announced a series of senior appointments to spearhead the company’s aggressive growth plans and focus on the execution of strategic priorities for 2022. The appointments include the heads of strategy, hotels & accommodation, flights, corporate communications, and B2B.
The hiring encompasses redefining the organisational culture and strengthening values in line with the growth plans, the travel company said in a statement. “With these appointments, the company is gearing us for its next phase of growth across its business verticals and further plans to ramp up its employee strength by 60 per cent by the end of the year,” it added.
Gaurav Patwari has been named VP – air category. He will use his 16 years of rich experience in the travel and aviation industry to help further build Cleartrip’s air travel vertical. He will be responsible for meeting the air business’s P&L targets while also developing a multi-year strategy for the company’s evolution and expansion. Patwari was most recently associated with GoFirst.
Karthick Prabhu D, the newly appointed Cleartrip head of strategy, has been a part of the travel tech industry for over 17 years with various travel brands such as Treebo hotels, Sabre, IDS Next, to name a few. As a product management leader, he has helped launch products that solve customer pain points, boost revenue, introduced an industry-first product as a tablet-based property management system, and got one of the apps featured in the ‘Best In India’ category in the Apple Appstore and Google Play Store.
Flipkart veteran Manu Sasidharan who has taken over as senior director – hotels and accommodation was the business head of Myntra’s men’s fashion segment prior to joining Cleartrip. He has worked with companies such as General Motors India and Bajaj Auto. He intends to use his diverse expertise to structurally rebuild and relaunch the hotels and accommodation category, with a strong emphasis on greater customer experience.
Divya Kumar has been appointed as director of public relations. In her new role, she will focus on building and spearheading the development, advancement and execution of the company’s corporate communications strategy. She was previously leading the public relations and sustainability mandate at AirAsia India. Before joining the field of corporate communications, Kumar started her career at NDTV Hindu, in the news & events department. Throughout her career spanning over 11 years, she has worked closely with the senior leadership team as a strategic advisor providing in-depth expertise in change management, crisis response, maneuvering corporate and consumer crises.
A Cleartrip veteran with over 21 years of experience, Sukesh Shetty has been roped in to head the B2B and API business, with a focus to bring automation and growth in the online B2B travel experiences. In his previous stint, Shetty was the co-founder of Tripsforbusiness, a B2B focused travel tech platform involved in building a content-rich, metasearch and book travel product for B2B customers. His journey resumes with the purpose of contributing to the success of the B2B business at Cleartrip.
“Cleartrip is at a pivotal point in its growth trajectory, and we seek to excel in every area we operate in,” commented Cleartrip CEO Ayyappan Rajagopal. “Building the right leadership team across verticals is crucial as senior leaders serve as catalysts in exponentially accelerating our overall growth. The new leadership team and I have a clear vision to take the Cleartrip brand forward.”
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.
