Companies push ahead with proposed share buyback plans after tax relief

Companies are pushing ahead with their proposed share buyback plans, following the government’s decision to provide grandfathering benefit to buybacks announced between April 1 and July 5 (the day of the Budget). More than half a dozen firms have filed a “letter of offer” with the markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), announcing their buyback schedule. Further, companies such as KPR Mill, which had withdrawn their buybacks following the unexpected tax outgo, have restored their buyback plan. 

In an ordinance dated September 20, the government said the buybacks announced prior to July 5, 2019, were being exempted from