Latest news with #Raipur-based
Time of India
03-08-2025
- Business
- Time of India
HC upholds ITAT order granting 80G approval to Raipur-based society
Raipur: In a significant judgment, the Chhattisgarh High Court upheld a decision by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) that allowed a Raipur-based society to receive tax exemption benefits under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act. The court ruled that since the society already had a valid registration under Section 12AA—which confirms its charitable status—the Income Tax Department could not deny 80G approval by questioning its activities. The court dismissed the department's appeal, stating that the ITAT followed legal precedent and committed no error in granting the relief. The High Court ruled that the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) was correct in directing that a society should be granted approval under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961, as long as its registration under Section 12AA of the Act is in existence. The court dismissed an appeal filed by the Income Tax Department, stating that no illegality or irregularity was committed by the ITAT in setting aside an order from the Commissioner of Income Tax (CIT). Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961 provides tax deductions to individuals and companies who donate to charitable institutions and funds in India, while Section 12AA of the Income Tax Act, 1961 deals with the registration of trusts and other charitable or religious institutions to avail tax exemptions on their income. The case involves a society that applied for approval under Section 80G of the Act on 28 Feb 2014. The CIT, Raipur, rejected the application on 25 Aug 2014, finding that the society was engaged in commercial activities and could not be considered a charitable organisation. The CIT noted that the society was running institutes on commercial lines, took large bank loans for infrastructure, and rented out its buildings for commercial purposes. The society filed an appeal with the ITAT, Raipur Bench, which allowed the appeal on 15 Jan 2019. The ITAT set aside the CIT's order and directed that the society be granted approval under Section 80G. The Income Tax Department, challenging the ITAT's decision, argued that the tribunal failed to appreciate that the society was providing vocational education for a fee, which it said did not qualify as "education" under Section 2(15) of the Act. The department contended that the society's work was commercial and not charitable. Counsels for the society, Sumesh Bajaj and Rishabh Bajaj, supported the ITAT's order. They argued that benefits under Section 80G of the Act cannot be denied if registration under Section 12AA is valid and has not been cancelled. They stated that the society's registration was renewed until Assessment Year 2026-27. The counsel cited judgments from the Supreme Court and the High Courts of Gujarat and Punjab and Haryana to support their arguments. After hearing both sides and reviewing the orders, Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Bibhu Datta Guru ruled in favour of the society. The court noted that the ITAT's decision was based on a precedent from the Gujarat High Court, which held that once registration under Section 12AA of the Act is granted, the benefits cannot be denied. The court observed that the department had not presented any material to show that the decision relied upon by the ITAT was set aside by a higher judicial forum. It held that the ITAT had not committed any illegality or irregularity. The High Court answered the substantial question of law in favour of the respondent and against the appellant. It upheld the ITAT's decision, ruling that as long as the registration under Section 12AA of the Act is in existence, the Income Tax Department cannot make a further enquiry into the genuineness of the society's activities and whether they are charitable. The appeal filed by the Income Tax Department was dismissed. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Friendship Day wishes , messages and quotes !
Economic Times
18-07-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Investors gain big appetite for small consumer brands
About a dozen small, regional consumer brands are either in the process of raising private equity funding or are being pursued by investors keen to acquire minority stakes, executives said. These include Ahmedabad-based frozen food maker Iscon Balaji, skincare brand Dermabay, condiment and noodle brand Moi Soi, Raipur-based Zoff Spices, and soft drink maker Bindu Jeera. The intense activity in small and mid-sized companies comes at a time when their larger rivals are trailing in finalising acquisitions and broader growth plans as they battle with sluggish demand in India's major mid-sized funding deals were finalised in recent weeks including snacking brand Khari Foods, desserts chain FES Café, and moss-based supplement maker CosMoss. Chandigarh-based Lahori Zeera and dairy and daily essential brand Country Delight too have raised more than ₹200 crore each. 'We plan to raise ₹5-7 crore over the next two quarters from a clutch of angel investors and family offices to scale our presence and accelerate innovation,' said Divneet Kaur, co-founder of Dermabay. The Ludhiana-based maker of clinically-created skincare products started operations in Foods, which sells noodles, ready-to-cook meals, and condiments under the Moi Soi range, is raising its first institutional round of Rs 30 crore, said its director Deb Mukherjee. 'The funds will be used to fuel the next phase of growth and scale Moi Soi into a Rs 500 crore brand over the next three years… as a bootstrapped venture, we've gone up against legacy players with limited resources, reaching profitability along the way,' said attribute the surge in investor interest to a combination of factors.'We thought premium was about affluent metros but it's very much visible in smaller towns. Also, quick commerce and e-commerce have reduced the advantage of legacy brands on distribution and availability,' said Kannan Sitaram, co-founder and partner at Fireside Ventures, an early-stage fund, which has invested in Jaipur-based dairy firm Frubon, teen-care beauty brand Sammmm, and Chennai-based Sweet Karam Coffee, among others. 'It is this opportunity that investors including us are looking at—to build brands based on regional foundations.'Industry trackers said while the bigger consumer transactions have become rare with large companies grappling with slowing sales, especially in cities, it is the smaller ticket deals that have deal volumes rose 26% year-on-year in Q2 of the current calendar, though values dropped to the lowest since Q4 2022, reflecting a shift toward smaller-ticket transactions, consulting and audit firm Grant Thornton Bharat noted in its 'Consumer & Retail Dealtracker' report for the June quarter. The report added that it recorded 120 deals valued at $884 million in the quarter, including IPO and QIP activity. While palm oil-free snacking company Khari Foods raised Rs 3 crore in seed funding led by Meri Punji IMF last month, Gurugram-based dessert cafe brand FES Café too raised Rs 3 crore in seed funding from serial entrepreneur Aakash Anand and his venture Wolfpack a wellness brand focused on sea moss-based supplements, also raised undisclosed seed funding. Executives at legacy companies, including Hindustan Unilever, Nestle and Tata Consumer Products, have called out the threat from smaller brands in recent interviews and earnings calls. 'Smaller companies are turning more noticeable than the big giants, they are broad-basing consumption and also keeping larger companies from getting complacent. I think it's good for the industry,' said Suresh Narayanan, outgoing managing director at Nestle India. The instant noodles category itself has been exploding with dozens of regional brands, many of which are competing on price.
Time of India
17-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Investors gain big appetite for small consumer brands
About a dozen small, regional consumer brands are either in the process of raising private equity funding or are being pursued by investors keen to acquire minority stakes, executives said. These include Ahmedabad-based frozen food maker Iscon Balaji, skincare brand Dermabay, condiment and noodle brand Moi Soi, Raipur-based Zoff Spices, and soft drink maker Bindu Jeera. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Select a Course Category Artificial Intelligence Finance PGDM Technology Design Thinking MCA Others Cybersecurity Leadership CXO Healthcare healthcare Product Management Degree Digital Marketing Management Project Management others Data Analytics Data Science Operations Management Public Policy MBA Data Science Skills you'll gain: Duration: 7 Months S P Jain Institute of Management and Research CERT-SPJIMR Exec Cert Prog in AI for Biz India Starts on undefined Get Details The intense activity in small and mid-sized companies comes at a time when their larger rivals are trailing in finalising acquisitions and broader growth plans as they battle with sluggish demand in India's major cities. Several mid-sized funding deals were finalised in recent weeks including snacking brand Khari Foods, desserts chain FES Café, and moss-based supplement maker CosMoss. Chandigarh-based Lahori Zeera and dairy and daily essential brand Country Delight too have raised more than ₹200 crore each. 'We plan to raise ₹5-7 crore over the next two quarters from a clutch of angel investors and family offices to scale our presence and accelerate innovation,' said Divneet Kaur, co-founder of Dermabay. Live Events Regional Foundations The Ludhiana-based maker of clinically-created skincare products started operations in 2022-end. Ceres Foods, which sells noodles, ready-to-cook meals, and condiments under the Moi Soi range, is raising its first institutional round of Rs 30 crore, said its director Deb Mukherjee. 'The funds will be used to fuel the next phase of growth and scale Moi Soi into a Rs 500 crore brand over the next three years… as a bootstrapped venture, we've gone up against legacy players with limited resources, reaching profitability along the way,' said Mukherjee. Executives attribute the surge in investor interest to a combination of factors. 'We thought premium was about affluent metros but it's very much visible in smaller towns. Also, quick commerce and e-commerce have reduced the advantage of legacy brands on distribution and availability,' said Kannan Sitaram, co-founder and partner at Fireside Ventures, an early-stage fund, which has invested in Jaipur-based dairy firm Frubon, teen-care beauty brand Sammmm, and Chennai-based Sweet Karam Coffee, among others. 'It is this opportunity that investors including us are looking at—to build brands based on regional foundations.' Industry trackers said while the bigger consumer transactions have become rare with large companies grappling with slowing sales, especially in cities, it is the smaller ticket deals that have surged. Total deal volumes rose 26% year-on-year in Q2 of the current calendar, though values dropped to the lowest since Q4 2022, reflecting a shift toward smaller-ticket transactions, consulting and audit firm Grant Thornton Bharat noted in its 'Consumer & Retail Dealtracker' report for the June quarter. The report added that it recorded 120 deals valued at $884 million in the quarter, including IPO and QIP activity. While palm oil-free snacking company Khari Foods raised Rs 3 crore in seed funding led by Meri Punji IMF last month, Gurugram-based dessert cafe brand FES Café too raised Rs 3 crore in seed funding from serial entrepreneur Aakash Anand and his venture Wolfpack Labs. CosMoss, a wellness brand focused on sea moss-based supplements, also raised undisclosed seed funding. Executives at legacy companies, including Hindustan Unilever , Nestle and Tata Consumer Products , have called out the threat from smaller brands in recent interviews and earnings calls. 'Smaller companies are turning more noticeable than the big giants, they are broad-basing consumption and also keeping larger companies from getting complacent. I think it's good for the industry,' said Suresh Narayanan, outgoing managing director at Nestle India . The instant noodles category itself has been exploding with dozens of regional brands, many of which are competing on price.
Economic Times
01-07-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Shri Hare-Krishna Sponge Iron IPO to debut today. No GMP seen in unofficial market
Shri Hare-Krishna Sponge Iron is set to list on the NSE SME platform. The IPO was fully subscribed at Rs 29.91 crore. Shri Hare-Krishna Sponge Iron is set to list on the NSE SME platform on Tuesday after a fully subscribed Rs 29.91 crore IPO, though grey market premium is currently at Rs 0. The IPO proceeds will primarily fund a captive power plant at its Raipur manufacturing unit. The company reported Rs 83.60 crore in revenue and Rs 9. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Raipur-based Shri Hare-Krishna Sponge Iron is slated to make its debut on the NSE SME platform on Tuesday following a fully subscribed Rs 29.91 crore IPO. However, the issue is drawing no premium in the grey market, with the GMP currently at Rs 0, reflecting muted listing expectations among public offer, which ran from June 24 to June 26, was entirely a fresh issue of 50.70 lakh shares priced at Rs 59 IPO received anchor backing worth Rs 8.50 crore on June 23, with 14.4 lakh shares allotted to institutional registrar to the issue is Kfin Technologies , with Hem Securities managing the book and Hem Finlease acting as market in 2003, the company operates a 30,000 metric tonne per annum sponge iron manufacturing unit in Siltara, Raipur, spread over 13.45 from the IPO will largely be used to set up a captive power plant at the company's manufacturing site, with Rs 23 crore earmarked for this capex project. The remaining funds will go towards general corporate the financial front, the company posted Rs 83.60 crore in revenue and Rs 9.2 crore in PAT for absence of grey market interest may reflect broader market caution or limited institutional buzz. Investors will closely watch how the stock performs on debut amid a packed IPO week and several SME listings competing for attention.: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)
Time of India
01-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Shri Hare-Krishna Sponge Iron IPO to debut today. No GMP seen in unofficial market
Raipur-based Shri Hare-Krishna Sponge Iron is slated to make its debut on the NSE SME platform on Tuesday following a fully subscribed Rs 29.91 crore IPO. However, the issue is drawing no premium in the grey market, with the GMP currently at Rs 0, reflecting muted listing expectations among investors. The public offer, which ran from June 24 to June 26, was entirely a fresh issue of 50.70 lakh shares priced at Rs 59 apiece. The IPO received anchor backing worth Rs 8.50 crore on June 23, with 14.4 lakh shares allotted to institutional buyers. The registrar to the issue is Kfin Technologies , with Hem Securities managing the book and Hem Finlease acting as market maker. Incorporated in 2003, the company operates a 30,000 metric tonne per annum sponge iron manufacturing unit in Siltara, Raipur, spread over 13.45 acres. Proceeds from the IPO will largely be used to set up a captive power plant at the company's manufacturing site, with Rs 23 crore earmarked for this capex project. The remaining funds will go towards general corporate purposes. On the financial front, the company posted Rs 83.60 crore in revenue and Rs 9.2 crore in PAT for FY25. The absence of grey market interest may reflect broader market caution or limited institutional buzz. Investors will closely watch how the stock performs on debut amid a packed IPO week and several SME listings competing for attention. ( Disclaimer : Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of the Economic Times)
