MAM
POKKT Mobile Ads joins hands with Adways Inc to power Japanese expansion
MUMBAI: POKKT, one of the leading smartphone advertising platforms for mobile games in India and Southeast Asia, has partnered with Tokyo-based Adways Inc to expand its operations into the Japanese market. Through its association with Adways, POKKT will enable brand advertisers in the country to leverage its proprietary, tech-led advertising platform and extensive portfolio of mobile advertising solutions to drive higher engagement with its target audiences.
Speaking on the partnership, POKKT founder and CEO Rohit Sharma said, “POKKT has built a very strong brand and product proposition in India, SEA & MENA. Having delivered more than 100 successful brand campaigns in these markets, we feel this is the right time to take our robust product offering to the Japanese digital brand advertising market which is at its inflection point. In addition, our platform is getting more than 50 million MAUs from Japan, which is a huge opportunity for advertisers to target mobile gaming audiences in Japan. Adways is undoubtedly one of the leading and most successful ad-tech Companies in Japan. We have had a great working relationship with them in the last few years. With their strong understanding of the market and very strong brand presence, we feel they are the right partners to launch our Mobile Video Ad Platform in the Japanese market.”
Adways Inc director, head of global business Nobuyoshi Noda added, “Adways is excited to be POKKT’s exclusive partner in Japan. The platform, with over 50 million MAUs covering 80 per fent of gaming audience in Japan, combined with Adways’ ad tech expertise and local market know-how, together we believe we can provide new mobile marketing opportunity for brand advertisers in Japan.”
Established in 2001, Adways Inc is an industry leader in affiliate advertisement for PC and mobile devices and offers a wide range of advertising, media, and e-commerce solutions to its clients. It has an operational footprint in multiple international markets such as the US, India, China, Taiwan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Hong Kong, in addition to Japan.
POKKT, on the other hand, is one of the leading mobile video ad-platforms in India, South-East Asia, and Middle-East. POKKT has built proprietary products and state-of-the-art mobile ad-tech platform for in-app video advertising. This coupled with its strong Data capabilities and proprietary DMP, POKKT is successfully able to deliver on all key KPIs for brand advertisers such as targeting, viewability, brand safety, along with other programmatic tools. POKKT works closely with leading advertisers in the region such as Unilever, P&G, GSK, Nissan, Pepsi, Coke, Amazon, Netflix, Samsung, Oppo, Disney, Sony etc.
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.
