Brands
Zomato acquires Feeding India to work on food safety
MUMBAI: Restaurant search and discovery service provider Zomato has acquired Feeding India, a not-for-profit organisation that serves food to the underprivileged in the country. The latter will remain a non-profit entity while Zomato will fund the entire salaries of the team and some core initiatives, including the development of ‘Feedi.ng’ app.
Zomato will also revamp the Feeding India website, and in the spirit of transparency, will be publishing quarterly financials. It is aiming to get the first Feeding Global – Financial Transparency Report, out by October 2019.
As shared by Zomato founder and CEO Deepinder Goyal in a blog post the firms have been working together for the past six months and were closely associated during the Odisha floods as well. “Within these 6 months of working together, we’ve been able to unlock the massive potential that comes with our reach and scale. In December of 2018, Feeding India distributed 78,300 monthly meals to the underprivileged. That figure has now skyrocketed to over 1.1 million meals a month.”
He further wrote, “Similarly, the number of cities Feeding India is active in has risen from 65 to 82. The number of Hunger Heroes (volunteers at Feeding India) has grown from 8,500 to 21,500.”
Zomato has earlier been associated with several other organisations, for the cause of food safety, including Robin Hood Army and Akshaya Patra Foundation.
“We have now begun a new, and a more concrete chapter around serving the underserved by acquiring Feeding India. It is an important step for us, as both organisations share a common dream of ending hunger and food wastage — not just in India, but globally," he added.
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.
