Brands
Hindustan Unilever reshuffles top brass as ice-cream demerger nears
MUMBAI: Hindustan Unilever is rearranging the deckchairs ahead of its ice-cream divorce. The consumer goods giant announced a clutch of senior management changes on 1 December, with Vandana Suri returning from Indonesia to take charge of its home care division as executive director from 1 January 2026.
Suri, currently general manager for beauty and wellbeing at Unilever Indonesia, will succeed Srinandan Sundaram, who is moving up to become chief executive of Unilever International. She brings two decades of brand-building experience across PepsiCo, Tetra Pak and Nielsen before joining HUL in 2011, where she led the premium laundry portfolio and later drove premiumisation in skin care as vice president for skin care and colour cosmetics.
The reshuffle comes as HUL’s demerger of Kwality Wall’s (India) Limited edges closer to completion. The ice-cream unit has already begun distancing itself from its parent, shifting its registered office from Unilever House in Andheri East to Oberoi Commerz II in Goregaon East on 1st December. Three non-executive directors—Navin Jain, Vinita Nair and Shalini Sinha—resigned from Kwality Wall’s board on 30 November as part of the reconstitution following the scheme of arrangement.
HUL chief executve and managing director Priya Nair praised Sundaram’s nine-year stint on the management committee, crediting him with driving “decisive market share gains” in home care. She expressed confidence that Suri’s “deep understanding of consumers, markets and ecosystems” would propel the division to even greater heights.
The moves signal HUL’s determination to keep its core business firing on all cylinders even as it splits off its frozen desserts arm—a rare moment of corporate surgery in India’s typically stable FMCG sector.
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.
