Adani Group premises inspected by HP tax authorities on allegations of tax irregularities

Himachal Pradesh State Excise and Taxation Department has raided the Adani Wilmar stores among other Adani Group establishments in the state. The team of the South Enforcement Zone of the Excise Department reached the store on Wednesday late night. Sources have told AajTak that checking of documents in the godowns continued till late at night and the non-payment of tax liability in cash is suspicious.

Adani Wilmar is a 50:50 joint venture between business conglomerate Adani Group and Singapore-based Wilmar. A total of seven Adani Group companies are working in Himachal Pradesh. The companies are also supplying grocery items on a large scale.

Earlier, the Himachal Pradesh government said it wants to end the impasse created by the closure of two cement factories and indefinite strike by the truck operators union and the industries minister will hold talks with the Adani group to resolve the issue, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Saturday.

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Two cement plants at Barmana (Bilaspur district) and Darlaghat (Solan district) owned by ACC Limited and Ambuja Cements, respectively, have been closed since December 14 due to a dispute over freight charges.

Adani Group has in total of seven functioning companies in Himachal Pradesh ranging from cold stores for fruits to grocery items supply. The company reported its December-quarter results on February 8 with a 16 percent increase in its consolidated profit to Rs 246.16 crore.

The development comes after index provider Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) said that it was reviewing the free float status of Adani Group securities after the market participants raised concerns about the eligibility of companies in the ports-to-power conglomerate.

MSCI said in its statement, “MSCI has received feedback from a range of market participants concerning the eligibility and free float determination of specific securities associated with the Adani Group for the MSCI Global Investable Market Indexes (GIMI).”

Meanwhile, Adani Enterprises stock is down 2.62 per cent to trade at 2,102 apiece on the BSE at the time of writing this story. Adani Wilmar stock, on the other hand, is up 5 per cent to trade at 440.30 apiece on the BSE.

The market value of seven Adani Group companies has been adversely impacted ever since the US-based activist short seller firm Hindenburg Research accused the conglomerate of improper use of offshore tax havens, accounting frauds, and stock manipulation.

Also read: MSCI reviews Adani Group securities amid sell-off crisis

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