HCL Infosystems Hit with Rs. 7.38 Cr Tax Bomb Over Mobile Charger Sales!

On June 17, 2025, HCL Infosystems Limited issued a disclosure informing the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE) that it had received an official order from the Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner (Appellate Authority), Punjab, confirming a tax demand of Rs. 738.52 lakhs related to the sale of mobile phone chargers bundled with handsets during the financial year 2010-11. The company disclosed the order to the stock exchange under Regulation 30, read with sub-para 20 of Para A of Part A of SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015.

The order was issued by the Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner (Appellate Authority) against the company, i.e., HCL Infosystems Limited, on June 16, 2025. The order confirmed the tax demand of Rs. 738.52 lakhs that was earlier imposed by the Excise and Taxation Officer, Mohali. The tax demand related to the financial year 2010-11, when the company used to sell mobile phone chargers along with mobile handsets in a bundled package (also called a composite pack). According to the tax authorities, the company should have charged higher tax on chargers even though they were sold together with the phones.

This argument is on the basis of a ruling by the Supreme Court of India regarding the case of State of Punjab vs. Nokia India Pvt. Ltd., where it was ordered that mobile chargers sold in such combined packs must be taxed separately and at a higher rate.

In conclusion to this judgment, authorities have applied the same logic to the past sales of the company and imposed a higher tax on it. In response to this, the company says it is currently evaluating its legal options. This means it is consulting legal and tax experts to decide whether to challenge the order further, accept it, or explore any other remedies available under the law.

Since HCL Infosystems is a publicly registered company, it is compulsory for it to disclose key developments to the stock exchanges under Regulation 30 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015. This regulation ensures transparency, investor protection, and market integrity. The company has also complied with the additional disclosure format prescribed by SEBI Circular SEBI/HO/CFD/CFD-PoD-1/P/CIR/2023/123 dated July 13, 2023, and included all required details in Annexure-A to its submission.