MAM
eComm players among top 10 television advertisers in BARC week 40
BENGALURU: Quite like their brick and mortar counterparts, eCommerce players in India offer discounts galore during the run-up to Navratra-Duhserra. This year also, the three big payers – Flipkart, Amazon India and Snapdeal ran television campaigns to grab as much of the online rupees as they could during the five or six special days. Flipkart’s sale’s moniker was ‘Big Billion Day 2016, Amazon called it ‘The Great Indian Sale’, while Snapdeal called its offering ‘Unbox Sale’
Note: This paper is on the changes in the pecking order in terms of television ad spots among the top 10 brands, and does not reflect the performance of a particular industry or genre per se.
As per Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC) data top 10 brands *Across Genre : All India (U+R) : 4+ Individuals,for week 39 (24 to 30 September 2016), of the total 164,881 television ad spots shared by the top ten brands, as many as 119,314 (72.4 percent) spots were by the seven FMCG brands that included beauty,oral care and healthcare, food beverages and confectionary;27,390 (16.6 percent) ad spots were booked by two automobile players – Honda and TVS; and 18,177 spots (11 percent) by one eComm player – Snapdeal.
Comparatively, in week 40 (1 October to 7 October 2016), the number of television ad spots by the top 10 brands increased 12.6 percent to 185,593. The break up in week 40 was: 108,088 (58.2 percent) spots by six FMCG brands (down 9.4 percent in terms of absolute numbers); 23,554 ad spots or 12,7 percent were by the sole representative from the auto mobile industry – TVS; and 53,951 (29.1) spots by the three eComm players mentioned above.
In week 39, Patanjali was numero uno with a massive28,949 in terms of spots, which fell 24.7 percent to 21,785 spots in week 40 and brought the brand down to fifth position in the pecking order of ad spots. In week 40, it was healthcare brand Dettol that moved to pole position with 25574 spots. Please refer to Fig A for ad spots for week 39 and 40. Please refer to Fig A below for the top 10 ranks in terms of TV ad spots.
Snapdeal has another mini festival sale in the period between 12 and 14 October, while Amazon has announced 17 to 20 October as the Great IndianFestival days. Ad blitzkrieg’s by these two eComm players are on and data for next few weeks could yet see some interesting movements among the top ten brands in terms of ad spots on television.
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.
