India’s tax department founders of three Indian unicorns – FirstCry.com, and Globalbees Brands Ltd. are investigating an alleged tax evasion by Xpressbees, according to people familiar with the matter.
The department, which runs India’s finance ministry, has sent notices to founder Supam Maheshwari asking why he did not pay taxes on more than $50 million in equity transactions conducted in privately held FirstCree, the people said, asking not to be named. Information is not public.
At least six investors in FirstCry, including private equity firm CrisCapital Management Co and the family office of Sunil Bharti Mittal, have also received inquiries related to the matter, they said. Maheshwari is in talks with the tax department to settle the probe, according to the people.
Maheshwari, a spokesperson for ChrysCapital, did not respond to emails seeking comment on the tax department and the Mittal probe.
FirstCry turned profitable in the financial year ending March 31, 2021, after years of losses. It is one of the few startups in India looking to tap the IPO market after becoming profitable at an operational level, Bloomberg reported earlier.
