MAM
Sagar Panda Joins Lokal App as Regional Head – Digital Business for West & North India
MUMBAI: Sagar Panda has joined Lokal App as Regional Head – Digital Business – West & North India Market. With nearly two decades of experience in the media and advertising industry, Sagar brings a wealth of knowledge in integrated digital media sales, Branded content advertising, and business development.
He joins the Publisher Platform from Sakal Media Group after working as Regional Business (West & South) for more than a year. Sagar Panda posted about this development on his LinkedIn profile.
Previously, Sagar served as Associate Director – Growth & Partnership at Zee5. Over the course of his career, he has held leadership and sales roles across several well-known organizations including Zee Entertainment, Sakal Media Group, The Hindu Group of Publication, India Television, Network18 Media, and Dalal Street Investment Journal.
Sagar Panda comes with more than 15+ years of experience contributing to organisations namely Zee Entertainment (Zee5), Sakal Media, The Hindu Group, India Television, News18 and Dalal Street Investment Journal.
Sagar’s areas of expertise span Advertising, Online Ad Sales (Display & Programmatic), Brand Solution Sales, Native Content Sales, Sponsorship-driven IPs, Concept Selling, Direct Sales, and Revenue Forecasting. His comprehensive experience also includes team building and management and consistently achieving revenue targets across traditional and digital platforms.
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.
