There seems to be a trouble in paradise for the Indian hospitality unicorn OYO, as Income Tax officials “visited” its Gurugram headquarters on January 10. OYO has called this raid a “routine TDS survey”. TDS stands for Tax Deduction at Source.
The seven-year-old start-up is already in hot waters with net losses widening six folds to ₹2,384 crore in the financial year 2019. Employees at the office were reportedly asked to leave the premises after IT officials started searching the office. The company maintained that it has extended its full cooperation to the tax authorities.
According to a Business Today report, an OYO spokesperson said, “There is a routine TDS survey in progress in one of our offices. We are cooperating with the authorities, and are committed to engaging with all relevant stakeholders. OYO Hotels & Homes has actively worked in ensuring that the wider unorganized segment is organized, and part of the formal economy. We continue to support small asset owners by creating entrepreneurship opportunities and giving them access to technology and other resources.”
While it is not exactly clear why the IT officials visited the headquarters, this might come as a big blow to the already in-crisis unicorn. Recently, the company fired thousands of its employees from China and India business. The company is also planning to lay off 1,200 more employees in India in the next three to four months.
HrNxt.com Newsdesk has researchers and writers with an excellent domain knowledge about the talent ecosystem, and the business environment. The team keeps a tab on the latest happenings in the ecosystem to bring most relevant news and insights for our readers. You can connect with our newsdesk at newsdesk@hrnxt.com.