The Income Tax Department has imposed two separate penalties amounting to Rs 23.07 crore on ACC Ltd, a leading cement producer now owned by Adani Cement.
The penalties, relating to the assessment years 2015-16 and 2018-19, follow findings of alleged under-reporting and furnishing of inaccurate particulars of income. ACC, a subsidiary of Ambuja Cement and part of the Adani Group since 2022, has stated its intention to appeal the orders and seek a stay on the penalty demands, asserting that these developments will not affect its financial activities. The fines arise from the company’s operations before it joined the Adani Group.
For assessment year 2015-16, the Income Tax Department disallowed expenses totalling Rs 49.25 crore, leading to a penalty of Rs 14.22 crore for “furnishing of inaccurate particulars of income”. The penalty represents 100% of the tax effect of the disallowed expenses.
A separate penalty of Rs 8.85 crore was imposed for the assessment year 2018-19, citing “under-reporting of income”. This followed the disallowance of a claim for expenditure amounting to Rs 12.79 crore, with the penalty set at 200% of the tax effect of the disallowed claim.
ACC confirmed its intention to contest both penalty orders. “The company will be contesting both orders by filing appeals before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) within the prescribed timelines and, in parallel, will seek a stay on the penalty demands raised under the respective orders,” ACC noted in a regulatory filing.
The company clarified that the recent demands, which were received on 1 October 2025, are unrelated to its current ownership under the Adani Group. Both penalties relate to activities in years before Adani acquired Ambuja Cements and ACC Ltd from Switzerland’s Holcim Group in a USD 6.4 billion deal in September 2022. ACC reassured stakeholders that these penalties “will have no impact on financial activity”.
According to its latest annual report, ACC reported revenue from operations of Rs 21,762 crore in financial year 2025, with cement sales volumes of 39 million tonnes. Shares of ACC Ltd traded at Rs 1,835.25 apiece on the BSE in the afternoon, reflecting a 0.33% increase from the previous close.
The filing noted: “For Financial Year 2014-15 relevant to Assessment Year 2015-16, the I-T department had disallowed certain expenses aggregating to Rs 49.25 crore and consequently alleged such adjustments as furnishing inaccurate particulars of income.” The department subsequently imposed a penalty equivalent to 100% of the tax effect on these disallowances.
On the 2018-19 penalty, the filing stated: “disallowed claim for expenditure amounting to Rs 12.79 crore and accordingly alleged under-reporting of income to that extent.” The Income Tax Department clarified: “Consequent to the said disallowance, the Income Tax Department has levied a penalty amounting to Rs 8.85 crore, i.e., 200 per cent of the tax effect of the aforesaid disallowances.”