Coromandel International Receives Over Rs 11-Crore Demand From Maharashtra Tax Authority

Coromandel International Ltd. on Friday announced that it had received a goods and services tax demand order for Rs 11 crore from the Raigad tax authority last week.

According to an exchange filing on Friday, the Indian agrochemicals company had received a GST notice of Rs 7,30,70,120 as well as a fine of Rs 3,75,73,912. The company will also have to pay interest at the applicable rate on the amount of the IGST.

The order alleged that the company had not complied with the pre-import condition as laid down in the notification dated Oct. 13, 2017.

However, on the payment of IGST, the company stated that it could avail itself of input tax credit.

It added that the interest levy, penalty, and redemption fine were not applicable in this case, as there were rulings favourable to the company from the Bombay High Court and the Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal. "Hence, no financial impact is expected. The company has a strong case to defend on the interest, penalty, and redemption fine."

The fertiliser and pesticide manufacturer attributed the delay in disclosing the development to receiving the hard copy of the order last week, during the closing hours of Friday.

It added, “The concerned officials, besides being on business travel, were internally reviewing the order, evaluating the impact and further course of action to finalise the disclosure and hence additional time taken for submission of disclosure.”

In the second quarter of the current financial year, the Murugappa Group company had reported a net profit of Rs 659 crore, which is a decline of 14.5% against Rs 755 crore that it had reported during the corresponding quarter last year. And, in the second half of FY25, the company had posted a net profit of Rs 968 crore, down by 29% compared to the previous fiscal's similar period when it had recorded Rs 1,249 crore.

Shares of Coromandel International closed 1.43% higher at Rs 1,779.05 apiece on the BSE, compared to a 0.96% advance in the benchmark Sensex.