I-T department slaps ₹23cr fine on this Adani Group firm
What's the story
The Income Tax (I-T) department has slapped a ₹23.07 crore fine on ACC Ltd, a subsidiary of Ambuja Cement under the Adani Group. The penalty is divided into two parts: ₹14.22 crore for "furnishing of inaccurate particulars of income" for the Assessment Year 2015-16 and ₹8.85 crore for "under-reporting of income" for the Assessment Year 2018-19.
Legal action
ACC to challenge penalties
ACC Ltd has announced its intention to challenge both penalties by filing appeals before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals). The company also intends to seek a stay on these penalty demands under the respective orders. Despite receiving these two demands on October 1, 2025, ACC has asserted that they will not affect its financial activities.
Corporate transition
Penalties imposed for period before Adani Group acquisition
In September 2022, the Adani Group acquired Ambuja Cements and its subsidiary ACC Ltd from Switzerland's Holcim Group in a $6.4 billion deal. The tax penalties were imposed for the period before ACC became part of the Gautam Adani-led group. The I-T department has imposed a penalty under section 271(1)(c) for Assessment Year 2015-16 over disallowed expenses aggregating to ₹49.25 crore and alleged furnishing inaccurate particulars of income to that extent.
Income discrepancy
ACC's financials unaffected by penalties
For the Assessment Year 2018-19, the I-T department disallowed a claim for expenditure amounting to ₹12.79 crore and alleged under-reporting of income to that extent. The department has levied a penalty of ₹8.85 crore in this case, which is 200% of the tax effect of these disallowances. Despite these penalties, ACC's latest annual report shows revenues from operations in FY25 at ₹21,762 crore with cement sales volume at 39 million tons.