The Income Tax Department has conducted raids on the Gurugram office and residence of Hero MotoCorp Chairman and Managing Director Pawan Munjal. The raids have been on since early morning. “Search operations are currently underway at about 25 premises of Hero MotoCorp, including at offices and residences of senior management in Delhi, Gurgaon and other parts of North India,” a source told CNBC-TV18.
The searches, which began at 7am today, are also covering Hero MotoCorp Chairman and MD Pawan Munjal’s office and residence. The I-T department also conducted searches at 24 locations in Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru, connected to the Mumbai-based real estate firm Hiranandani Group on March 22. “The group has already clarified that the offshore trust/assets held by the family abroad is fully bonafide and compliant with all laws. Further, all queries of the authorities are being fully addressed and we assure our full cooperation in the matter,” a spokesperson for Hiranandani Group told CNBC TV18.
In October 2021, names of Niranjan Hiranandani, the founder of the Hiranandani Group, and key members of his family had figured in the Pandora papers which had said that they were beneficiaries of a Trust with assets of over $60 million.
Sources told PTI that the raids are part of a tax evasion investigation and a team of officials of the department are looking at financial documents and other business transactions of the company and the promoters.
At 1:05 pm, Hero MotoCorp was quoting at Rs 2,378.20, down Rs 45.45, or 1.88 percent, on the BSE.
After the news broke, Hero MotoCorp share price slipped 4 per cent intraday. The share touched a 52-week high of Rs 3,141.55 and a 52-week low of Rs 2,148.00 on March 22, 2021 and March 8, 2022, respectively. It is trading 24.11 percent below its 52-week high and 11 percent above its 52-week low.
Led by Pawan Munjal, the company has units spread across 40 countries in Asia, Africa, and South and Central America.
Hero MotoCorp became the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer in 2001, in terms of unit volume sales in a year. It has over 50 per cent share in the domestic motorcycle market and has sold over 100 million units across domestic and international markets. In February, the company reported a significant 29 per cent fall in total wholesales, according to its statement.
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