I-T Dept 'action' at OYO's India headquarters; company calls it routine TDS survey

Income Tax Department carried out a TDS verfication action at OYO headquarters in Gurugram on Thursday. The hospitality unicorn confirmed that it was a routine TDS (Tax Deduction at Source) survey. Income Tax officials reportedly reached the OYO's office in Sector 69, Gurugram in the first half of the day, reports suggest.

A few employees were reportedly asked to leave after the income tax officials started searching the office. The company, already battling a myriad of troubles, assured cooperation to the tax authorities.

"There is a routine TDS survey in progress in one of our offices. We are cooperating with the authorities, and are committed to engaging with all relevant stakeholders. OYO Hotels & Homes has actively worked in ensuring that the wider unorganised segment is organised, and part of the formal economy. We continue to support small asset owners by creating entrepreneurship opportunities and giving them access to technology and other resources," an OYO spokesperson told Business Today.

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The Ritesh Agarwal-led hospitality aggregator has been in hot water for quite some time now. On the back of rising operating and employee expenses, OYO saw its net loss widen six times to Rs 2,384 crore in the financial year ended March 31, 2019. In December last year, Yahoo exited the joint venture with the company in Japan.

The money-losing unicorn is now firing thousands of employees in China and India over non-performance. The company has already fired 5 per cent of its 12,000 employees in China and 12 per cent of its 10,000 strong workforce in India, reports suggest. OYO might let go off 1,200 more employees in India in the next three to four months.

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