This year’s gift of 600 cars to his employees had brought diamond merchant, Savjibhai Dholakia into the limelight yet again for his grand gestures. He had handed over the keys to the cars, each costing over Rs 4 lakhs, to the diamond artists and engineers of his company, Hari Krishna Exports. The cost of the cars itself was said to be about Rs 27 crore in total. However, it is now reported that these cars were not truly ‘gifted’.
Some reports say that every month a specific sum will be deducted from the salaries of the employees as part of the CTC, under the head called bonus. This amount will be paid to the car company as down payment for the cars. Therefore, Dholakia cannot claim that he gave away the cars as a bonus to his employees. Also, reports reveal that all the cars are registered under the name of Hari Krishna Exports, and the employees who were selected to receive the so-called ‘gifts’ were asked to sign a five-year bond. Therefore, these employees will be contributing towards the payment of the EMIs. It has also come to light that the said cars were bought in bulk, and therefore, the Company received a heavy discount too. And since the cars are registered in the Company’s name, and GST has been paid against them, tax credit will also be received for the same.
Dholakia also gave away fixed deposits and life insurance policies in the range of Rs 50 lakh to one crore, to 1700 employees.
In 2017, the Company gave away 400 flats and 1260 cars during Diwali, to its employees. Those at the receiving end were selected with the help of a software once they became eligible for the loyalty bonus scheme.
According to Dholakia, this was his way of expressing his gratitude to the workforce for their efforts and loyalty, which forms the strong foundation of the the Company.
Dholakia had claimed that it was his desire to ensure that each one of his 5000 strong workforce had a car, and that this ‘gifting’ idea was a step towards achieving that target.
