Brands
Engineered to Impress as Liebherr Privé Redraws India’s Luxury Blueprint
MUMBAI: Luxury in India has finally traded the glitter for the gears and Liebherr Privé made sure everyone noticed. In an evening where design met discipline and innovation met intention, Liebherr Appliances India and Network18 unveiled an invite-only showcase that signalled a bold shift, luxury that thinks before it shines. The night opened on a note as rich as its theme Purbayan Chatterjee’s sitar weaving a meditative calm through a room filled with global leaders, architects, innovators, and cultural tastemakers. It set the stage for a celebration not of excess, but of intelligence, engineering, and human-centred design.
Network18’s anchor welcomed guests before Liebherr Appliances India MD of sales Kapil Agarwal framed the agenda: a commitment to precision engineering, sustainability-led design and products built for the way India lives, evolves, and aspires. “Innovation is not about complexity; it’s about purpose,” Kapil said, emphasising how design aligned with real human needs can elevate daily life rather than merely ornament it.
At the heart of the evening was the Liebherr Foundational Fireside, a sharply insightful exchange featuring Steffen Nagel and Roman Schäfer in conversation with CNBC-TV18’s Manisha Gupta. Together, they unpacked Liebherr’s legacy of uncompromising build quality, intelligent technology, and long-term commitment to India, a market they described as “growing at a speed no other market can match.”
Steffen set the tone: “Innovation for us is embedded in our DNA… whether it is quality, functionality or sustainability, we see it as our responsibility to create products that add value while ensuring the next generation inherits a better world.” Roman echoed the sentiment, noting, “We don’t copy-paste Europe for India; it is with India, for India, and now from India to the world. The future of luxury is not loud, it is seamless.”
The conversation seamlessly expanded into real estate and lifestyle, with a special fireside conversation featuring HoAL chairman Abhinandan Lodha. Under the theme “From Square Feet to Smart Living,” Lodha explored how engineering-led innovation is reshaping luxury homes. “India’s luxury consumer is younger, sharper and demanding real quality,” he said, highlighting HoAL’s data-driven approach powered by 1,45,000 verified insights. “Sustainability costs more, but it’s our duty to the next generation.”
The showcase then moved into a high-energy panel on the future of evolving homes, gathering voices from architecture, interiors, arts, and design including Rajiv Mishra, Sumisha Gilotra, Brinda Miller, Nisha JamVwal and Neelam Sonavane. The discussion painted a vivid picture of how culture, functionality, and emotional resonance are redefining Indian homes.
But the evening’s most anticipated moment belonged to the powerhouse duo Sussanne Khan and Farah Khan Ali. Their conversation, “Designing Modern Luxury Where innovation meets personal expression,” blended vulnerability, vision, and wit. Sussanne said, “Modern luxury is a marriage of technology and emotion: a home with a heart and a brain.” From artisanal craft to smart automation, from eco-materials to soulful storytelling, she outlined a design philosophy deeply rooted in warmth, creativity and intuition.
As India steps confidently into an era of intelligent, future-ready living, Liebherr Privé stood as more than a curated evening, it became a manifesto. A reminder that the next chapter of luxury will be engineered, intentional and quietly extraordinary. A world where timeless craftsmanship meets intelligent technology, and where design doesn’t just decorate life, it deepens it.
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.
