Sapphire Foods India Limited has announced significant changes to its senior management personnel, including the resignation of the President and Chief Executive Officer of its KFC Business. The company disclosed that Deepak Taluja has resigned from his position, effective from the close of business hours on July 24, 2026. The leadership transition involves the elevation of existing executives to fill the vacancy and manage the Pizza Hut Business operations.

Management Transition

The company stated that Deepak Taluja will continue to discharge his duties during the notice period until his resignation becomes effective. Consequently, the board has appointed Vikrant Vohra, currently serving as Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the Pizza Hut Business, to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of the KFC Business. This appointment is effective from July 25, 2026.

New Appointments

In a related move, Sapphire Foods has appointed Saurabh Girdhar as Assistant Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Pizza Hut Business. Girdhar was previously serving as Chief Operating Officer for the Pizza Hut Business in Bangalore and Kerala. His elevation is effective from July 25, 2026, and he will be designated as a Senior Management Personnel of the company.

Executive Profiles

Vikrant Vohra brings nearly two decades of experience in the hospitality sector, having worked with major brands such as The Park, Hyatt, Taj, and Marriott International. At Sapphire Foods, he has previously led operations for KFC in Karnataka, Kerala, and West India before taking charge of the Pizza Hut Business. Saurabh Girdhar is a hotel management graduate with over 17 years of experience in the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) industry, having previously worked with Yum India and Devyani International.

The disclosures were made to the stock exchanges pursuant to Regulation 30 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015.

Sapphire Foods India Limited has received a show cause notice from the office of the Assistant Commissioner (ST), Koyambedu Assessment Circle, Chennai, alleging the availment of excess input tax credit. The authorities have issued a cumulative demand of INR 977.06 million under the Tamil Nadu SGST Act 2017 for the periods April 2022 to March 2023 and April 2023 to March 2024. The company stated that the claim made by the authority is not maintainable and that there is no material impact on its financial or operational activities due to the issuance of this notice.

The show cause notices were issued under Section 73 of the Tamil Nadu SGST Act 2017 vide DRC-01 dated May 26, 2026. The company received both notices on May 26, 2026. The authorities alleged that the company availed excess input tax credit as compared with GSTR-2B.

Details of the Demand

The following table outlines the key details of the regulatory action:

Sapphire Foods is currently evaluating the notice and stated that it shall take necessary steps to respond to the authorities. The disclosure was made to the exchanges under Regulation 30 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015.