India’s Delta Corp shares plummeted on Monday to their lowest point in nearly three years, as the casino operator disclosed that its subsidiary received an additional tax shortfall notice, amounting to Rs63.84 billion ($766.8 million).
This contrasts with the company’s third-quarter net revenue of Rs2.71 billion ($32.6 million), which was reported just last week, as well as a prior tax arrears notice of Rs111.40 billion ($1.3 billion) from last month.
The announcement caused Delta’s shares to plunge by 10 percent, marking their lowest point since November 2020. This decline comes on the heels of a year in which the company saw a substantial 40 percent loss in its market share.
In July, the country’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) council decided to impose a 28 percent indirect tax on money collected by gaming companies.
While global investors have urged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to review the 28 percent gaming tax, citing a setback to prospective investments of about $4 billion, the country’s revenue secretary had said there was no need to rethink the tax.
Delta Corp. operates casinos in Goa and Sikkim as well as online gaming operations.
The tax authority also recently proceeded with a 28 percent tax on online gaming, casinos, and horse racing.
Delta Corp. already announced its opposition to the tax claim, taking issue with the levy being based on the gross bet value instead of gross gaming revenue.
