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- Tata Sons’ stalled dividend costs Trusts Rs 56 lakh daily.
- Restriction on Trust board meetings delays philanthropic funds.
- Trusts avoid court; bureaucratic changes cause further delays.
The stalled approval of Tata Sons’ Rs 4,479-crore dividend is estimated to be costing Tata Trusts close to Rs 56 lakh in potential investment income every single day, reported The Financial Express citing people familiar with the matter.
Despite the mounting figure, the Trusts are not expected to move the Bombay High Court to challenge the restriction currently barring the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT) from holding board meetings, the report said.
The dividend was meant to be taken up at Tata Sons’ annual general meeting on August 18, but the meeting was adjourned after it failed to meet quorum requirements. Tata Trusts, which together hold roughly 66 per cent of the holding company, are entitled to around Rs 2,900 crore of the total payout recommended by the Tata Sons board.
The daily cost of waiting
Based on an assumed annual return of 7 per cent, that Rs 2,900 crore would otherwise be generating potential income of about Rs 55.6 lakh for each day it stays out of reach, the report said. Extrapolated over time, a two-month hold-up would work out to roughly Rs 33.4 crore in foregone income, with every further week adding close to Rs 3.9 crore to that total. Should the impasse run on for six months, the shortfall could climb past Rs 100 crore, it added.
One of the persons cited in the report stressed that the impact goes beyond a line on a balance sheet: “For the Trusts, the loss is not merely an accounting cost. The income from their investments is used to fund philanthropic activities. A prolonged delay could therefore affect the funds available for their charitable mission.”
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Charity funds already stuck
Separately, around Rs 400 crore belonging to SRTT is reported to be locked up and unavailable for disbursement, money that was earmarked for charitable work spanning water and sanitation, education, and feeding programmes.
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Why court action isn’t on the table yet
The scale of the financial fallout has prompted questions over whether every option is being explored to safeguard the Trusts’ position, questions sharpened by the fact that SRTT has a senior counsel sitting on its board, and by reports that caveats had already been filed ahead of the restriction being imposed.
Even so, Tata Trusts is said to be leaning towards a wait-and-watch stance, wary that heading to court could pull the matter into a drawn-out legal battle.
The Trusts have already tried to get the restriction lifted through other channels, including a letter sent to the charity commissioner of Maharashtra, though this has not produced a decision so far. A further letter could follow in the coming days, one of the sources cited in the report said.
Bureaucratic reshuffle adds to the delay
Adding to the hold-up, the additional commissioner overseeing the case is understood to have been transferred, with a new official now handling proceedings. This changeover alone may have reportedly pushed the process back by around two months.
Tata Trusts is said to believe that turning to the High Court at this stage risks slowing things down even further, since the court would have to examine the case from scratch, a step that could extend proceedings by as much as another six months.
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