Maharashtra GST Dept Conducts Searches At Justdial Office

SUMMARY

Justdial said that it was cooperating with GST authorities and furnishing data as per requirement

The search operation was conducted under Section 67(1) and 67(2) of Maharashtra GST Act, 2017

Justdial reported a 115% YoY jump in net profit to INR 154.07 Cr in Q2 FY25 while operating revenue rose 9.3% YoY to INR 284.83 Cr during the quarter under review

Maharashtra goods and services tax (GST) department has conducted “searches” at the Mumbai corporate office of Reliance Retail-owned hyperlocal search engine Justdial.

In a filing, Justdial said that the search was ongoing, adding that it was cooperating with the GST authorities and furnishing data as per requirement.

The search operation was conducted under Section 67(1) and 67(2) of Maharashtra GST Act, 2017, added the company.

“Please note that Maharashtra State GST authorities initiated a search under Section 67(1) and 67(2) of Maharashtra Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 on December 5, 2024 at the registered office of the Company in Mumbai. The search is ongoing and the Company is fully cooperating in providing data as per request placed,” added Justdial in the filing

The Reliance-owned company said there was no clarity on the alleged violations committed by the Justdial, which necessitated the search operation.

Founded initially in 1993 by VSS Mani, Justdial forayed into the online search engine space in 2007 with the launch of its website. It operates a local search firm that provides both B2C and B2B listings of small and medium businesses across India.

In 2021, Reliance Retail acquired a controlling stake of 65% in Justdial while the original promoter Mani still owns a 10% stake in the company.

The company claimed to have witnessed a traffic of 198 Mn visitors in the quarter ended September 2024, primarily from mobile, desktops and voice platforms. At the end of second quarter (Q2) of the fiscal year 2024-25 (FY25), Justdial hosted 46.2 Mn listings on its flagship platform.

Overall, Justdial saw its net profit jump 115% year-on-year (YoY) to INR 154.07 Cr in Q2 FY25 as against INR 71.79 Cr in the year-ago quarter. Meanwhile, operating revenue rose 9.3% to INR 284.83 Cr during the quarter under review from INR 260.61 Cr in Q2 FY24.

Notably, the searches at Justdial come at a time when GST authorities have stepped up their crackdown on Indian companies and startups for alleged tax-related issues. Last month, Mumbai GST officials conducted a search and inspection operation at the Pune headquarters and a warehouse of kids-focused marketplace FirstCry.

In September, West Bengal GST authorities slapped foodtech major Zomato with a fresh GST demand and penalty of over INR 17.70 Cr. Recently listed Swiggy also faces GST liabilities to the tune of INR 326.7 Cr, as per its updated draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) filed in the same month.