Brands
Tata Motors overhauls board as it splits commercial vehicle unit
MUMBAI: Tata Motors is reshuffling its boardroom as India’s biggest carmaker prepares to spin off its commercial vehicle business into a separate listed entity. The Mumbai-based company announced sweeping changes to its leadership on 26 September, with three independent directors stepping down and a new managing director taking the helm.
The biggest change sees Shailesh Chandra appointed as managing director and chief executive, replacing Girish Wagh, who will move to head the soon-to-be-listed TML Commercial Vehicles. Chandra, currently joint managing director of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, will serve a three-year term from 1 October.
Three independent directors are departing as part of the reorganisation. Hanne Sorensen, a former Tata Consultancy Services board member, will step down on 30 September but remain on the board of Jaguar Land Rover, Tata Motors’ British luxury car unit. Kosaraju Veerayya Chowdary and Guenter Karl Butschek will both leave on 1 October to join the commercial vehicles entity’s board.
Replacing them is Sudha Krishnan, a former senior civil servant who retired in 2020 as member finance to India’s Space Commission and Atomic Energy Commission. Krishnan, who has four decades of experience in public policy and finance, will serve a five-year term as independent director.
The changes come as Tata Motors executes a composite scheme of arrangement approved by India’s National Company Law Tribunal. The demerger, which becomes effective on 1 October, will see shareholders receive one share in TML Commercial Vehicles for every share they hold in Tata Motors.
In another significant move, P B Balaji will resign as group chief financial officer on 17 November to become chief executive of Jaguar Land Rover. He will be replaced by Dhiman Gupta, currently chief financial officer of Tata Passenger Electric Mobility. Unusually, Balaji will rejoin Tata Motors’ board as a non-executive director on the same day he steps down from his executive role.
The restructuring reflects Tata Motors’ strategy to separate its commercial vehicle operations from its passenger car and Jaguar Land Rover businesses. The company is also transferring Rs 2,300 crore worth of non-convertible debentures to the commercial vehicles unit as part of the demerger.
The board changes were approved at a meeting that ran from 2pm to 5pm on 26 September, with all appointments subject to shareholder approval.
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.
