MAM
Karthik Lakshminarayan joins Madison Media
MUMBAI: Karthik Lakshminarayan joins Madison Media as COO of Crest. In his new role, he will head the ITC AOR. He will be alternating between the Bangalore and Kolkata operations of ITC.
Lakshminarayan comes with over 16 years of experience in media having worked in media agencies like Madison Media, Initiative Media and Starcom as well as with media channels like Colors and FoodFood. Across his career, he has worked on a large and diverse portfolio of brands like Godrej, Cadbury, Marico, Asian Paints, Bharti Axa, Infosys, Britannia, Titan, Heinz, Pillsbury and Hallmark amongst others.
Madison Media group CEO Punitha Arumugam says, “I am delighted to have Karthik back with Madison Media. The best testament for Madison Media as an organisation is when ex Madisonites as talented as Karthik are willing to accept and explore career opportunities with us once again.”
Lakshminarayan added, “I am delighted to return to Madison Media, post my successful stint in the broadcast and production side of business, which I will leverage to deliver better value to Madison and its clients. I am looking forward to this new chapter in my career.”
Platinum Media CEO Basabdatta Chowdhuri added, “We have done a lot of interesting and exciting work for ITC in the last one year and I am looking forward to have Karthik lead our ITC AOR team.”
Madison Media Group handles media planning and buying for blue chip clients including Airtel, Godrej, Kraft, ITC, General Motors, Marico, McDonald’s TVS, Britannia, Procter & Gamble, Asian Paints, Tata Tea, Shriram Transport Finance, Levis, SpiceJet, Axis Bank, Domino’s, Bharti Axa, MaxNewyork Life Insurance, Tata Chemicals, Acer, Dish TV, IDFC, Imagine TV, Times Television Network, Indian Oil and many others.
The gross billing of Madison Media is Rs 30 billion.
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.
