VIP Industries Secures Favourable Ruling From Maharashtra Tribunal, Gets Rs 358-Crore Refund

VIP Industries Ltd. announced on Wednesday that it had received a favourable ruling from the Maharashtra Sales Tax Tribunal. The ruling pertains to appeals filed against various assessment orders issued by the Assistant/Deputy Commissioner of Sales Tax for the financial years 2009-10 through 2017-18.

The initial order disallowing branch transfer claims and levying Central Tax thereon was set aside and the claims by the company stock transfers were also allowed, according to an exchange filing on Wednesday.

As the litigation had been reported as a contingent liability in the respective financial statements, the related amount of Rs 357.56 crore will now be refunded to VIP Industries.

VIP Industries reported a loss of Rs 33.05 crore for the quarter ended September, compared to a profit of Rs 13.28 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal.

Revenue decreased by 0.3% year-on-year for the three months ended September, reaching Rs 544.26 crore.

VIP Industries, which has a market capitalisation of Rs 6,900 crore, competes with Samsonite and Safari Industries Ltd. in the premium and mass segment.

The company, which owns brands such as Aristocrat, VIP, Carlton, Skybags and Caprese, had a market share of 56% in the branded luggage segment in financial year 2024.

VIP Industries stock rose as much as 3.04% during the day to Rs 491 apiece on the NSE. The stock closed 1.68% higher at Rs 484.50 per share. This compares with a 0.56% decline in the benchmark Nifty 50. It has fallen 21.90% in the last 12 months and 20.57% year-to-date.

Out of 14 analysts tracking the company, six maintain a 'buy' rating, six recommend a 'hold' and two suggest 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The average 12-month analysts' consensus price target implies an upside of 3.2%.