Aditya Birla Nuvo contests tax liability

MUMBAI: Aditya Birla Nuvo, part of the $35 billion Aditya Birla Group, has filed a petition against the Income tax department over the tax liability of around Rs 8 crore.

The department had levied the tax demand on Aditya Birla Nuvo which the company termed as operational expenditure for constructing a road near one of their manufacturing plants. Since the plant is yet to start production, the tax authorities said the company can not claim exemption.

On Wednesday, a divisional bench comprising Justice JP Devdhar and Justice AR Joshi adjourned the case to next week. The $4 billion Aditya Birla Nuvo is a diversified conglomerate and is involved in the business of branded apparels, carbon black and viscose filament yarn. Senior counsel Atul Jasani is arguing the case on behalf of Aditya Birla Nuvo, while the income tax department is being represented by senior counsel Vimal Gupta.

Recently, the Bombay High Court had dismissed the plea filed by the Group's flagship, Hindalco Industries, which had challenged the department's contention that tax should be levied on corporate guarantees issued by the company.