• Notification Date: 10-02-2023
• Notification No: N/A

Adani Wilmar inspected over Allegations of GST Violations in Himachal Pradesh

The Himachal Pradesh excise and taxation department carried out an inspection at an Adani Group company, scrutinising records and checking the stock at the Adani Wilmar warehouse in Parwanoo over alleged GST violation, a government official Thursday said. The Adani Wilmar termed the inspection carried out late Wednesday as “routine” and added that no irregularities were detected. 

Adani Wilmar, a 50:50 joint venture between the Adani Group and Singapore-based Wilmar, sells cooking oil and other food products like rice, wheat flour, sugar, besan and soya chunks under the Fortune brand. In Himachal Pradesh, it is a major supplier of these products to the state civil supplies and police departments. 

GD Thakur, a senior excise and taxation department official, said Parwanoo unit of Adani Wilmar recorded a business of Rs 138 crore last year. The company’s entire GST input was adjusted through tax credit but no payment was made in cash, he said. In a statement, Adani Wilmar cited the GST rules and claimed “the company is not required to pay tax liability in cash”. 

The excise official said the Adani Wilmar recorded a turnover of about Rs 350 crore during the last three years. It disclosed a GST liability of about Rs 20 crore and claimed refunds amounting to a little under Rs 2 crore for that period. During the inspection no variation was found between the physical stock and the stock according to the records maintained by the company, the official said. 

“We carried out an inspection during which the company officials provided co-operation. Our investigation is ongoing,” said Thakur. In its statement, Adani Wilmar claimed that officials who visited the warehouse did not find any irregularities. 

“One of Adani Wilmar’s depot warehouses at Parwanoo was visited by GST officials. The staff extended their support during this routine inspection, fully cooperating with the officials and local authorities. The officials did not find any irregularities in the operations and dealings conducted by the company. We would like to clarify that the concerns specific to GST payments in cash, citing GST law under Rule 86B, the company is not required to pay tax liability in cash,” read the statement. 

It said depot operations are functioning normally after the inspection. “This was a routine inspection carried out by the relevant authorities and there was no raid as previously stated or reported in the media,” it said. 

The inspection in the Congress-ruled state comes at a time when the group finds itself in the middle of a political row triggered by a scathing report by US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research. 

In Himachal Pradesh, Adani Group is currently engaged in a standoff with transporters over freight rates due to which the conglomerate’s two cement plants in Solan and Bilaspur districts which have remain closed since December 14. 

The Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led government has intervened in the dispute, trying to break the stalemate between the cement company and the truckers’ association. 

Adani Group stocks took a severe beating after Hindenburg Research accused it of share price manipulation and other irregularities last month. The conglomerate has dismissed the allegations as lies. 

Parliament has been repeatedly disrupted over the row, with the Opposition questioning the rise of the Adani Group over the past decade and demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the allegations in the Hindenburg report.