Taxing times persist for Delta Corp as ace investor Ashish Kacholia sells shares

• The two tax notices received by Delta Corp are for ₹11,140 crore and ₹5,682 crore against three of its subsidiaries.
• Seasoned market investor Ashish Kacholia sold 1,500,000 shares in the company on Monday evening.
• The stock is down over 34% year-to-date and seen a major dip after GST was raised to 28% on gaming companies last October.

Gaming and hospitality company, Delta Corp has been under pressure in the past six trading sessions with the stock sliding more than 20% in the last three. The stock came under pressure after the taxman sent demand notices to the company. On Monday evening, it was dealt with another blow when seasoned market investor Ashish Kacholia sold 1,500,000 shares in the company at an average price of ₹144.65 via bulk deals.

The slip began when the company was levied a tax demand of ₹16,822 crore on Friday when the Directorate General of GST Intelligence asked the company to pay up the alleged liability. The two tax notices received by Delta Corp are for ₹11,140 crore and ₹5,682 crore against three of its subsidiaries.

“The sum asserted in the DG Notice is calculated using the total gross bet value of all games played at the casinos during the applicable time,” said Vaibhav Vidwani, Research Analyst, Bonanza Portfolio.

Road ahead for Delta Corp

The company, meanwhile, is exploring legal options. “The company has been legally advised that the DG Notice and the tax demand is arbitrary and contrary to law, and the company will pursue all legal remedies available to it to challenge such tax demand and related proceedings," the company said in a notification to the exchanges.

What the company is arguing is that the GST levied is “for the period from July 2017 to March 2022”. However, the 28% GST levied on gaming and casinos came into effect on October 1, 2022.

It is noteworthy that late billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala sold his shares in the company in 2022. At 11:00 am on Tuesday, the stock is down further 1% and trading at ₹141 per share.