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Pointing out ITC Hotels’ (ITCH) strong franchise and its positioning as the number 2 listed hotelier, global brokerage firm Jefferies initiated coverage on the stock with a ‘buy’ rating and a target price of Rs 240, indicating a 30% upside potential for growth.“We peg ITCH’s EBITDA/PAT to grow at a 16%/19% CAGR over FY24-FY27e. We initiate ITCH with a BUY rating, valuing overall Hotel EBITDA at 30x FY27 EV/EBITDA (vs. 37x target EV/EBITDA for IHCL),” said Jefferies in its report.Additionally, Jefferies noted that ITCH trades at 20x FY27 EV/EBITDA, reflecting a 25%+ discount to IHCL’s 27x, which they believe has room to narrow.The foreign brokerage firm believes that the company is benefitting from the continuity of a long-tenured hotel management team. Post-demerger, they expect ITC Hotels’ independent status to improve focus on returns and growth. The company has also recently constituted a board with 50% independent directors.ITC Hotels is the number 2 listed hotelier, operating under an owner/operator model with a net cash balance sheet and a diversified brand/geographical presence. It is also currently ramping up recent (underutilized) greenfield projects (20% of keys) and expanding rooms through management contracts.Not only is the company the second-best listed entity in the space, but it also has a diverse brand portfolio across segments, featuring the ITC brand in the luxury segment, WelcomHotel in the upper-upscale category, and Fortune in the mid-to-upscale segment.ITCH introduced two new brands in the luxury/premium segment (Storii and Mementos) in FY22. Recent expansions have enabled the company to increase its geographical presence in Tier 2/3 cities. Approximately 80% of its owned room inventory remains concentrated in metro/Tier-1 cities, reflecting a similar business (vs. leisure) segment mix in its portfolio.“ITCH has commissioned 20% of its owned inventory between FY20-FY25, including a premium hotel in Sri Lanka. Amid sectoral tailwinds, ITCH's India occupancy is expected to increase from 69% in FY24 to ~75% in FY27e, with a RevPAR CAGR of 9% over FY24-FY27e. For the 252-key ITC Ratnadipa in Colombo (Sri Lanka), occupancy is projected to be between 20-55% for FY25-FY27e, helping unlock the asset on the balance sheet,” Jefferies believes.ITCH's hotel asset mix is 45:55% Owned: Managed Keys. The company is further expanding via an asset-light model, aiming to grow its room count from 13,000 to 18,000+ by 2029/30 and increase management fees by 2.5x. Premium hotel keys will rise to 42% of the managed portfolio in five years, enhancing its product mix.Lastly, the global brokerage firm pointed out that post-demerger, ITC Hotels has a debt-free balance sheet with Rs 1,500 crore in cash.“Low occupancy in new greenfield projects has impacted ROCE, but 40% of capex in Sri Lanka, along with asset-light expansion, is expected to boost ROCE from 9% in FY24 to 12% by FY27e and 14-15% by FY30e,” the brokerage firm added.Around 12:30 pm today, the shares of ITC Hotels were trading flat at Rs 170.90 on the BSE.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

According to media reports, the new income tax bill is likely to be tabled in Parliament on Thursday, i.e., on February 13, 2025. The new income tax bill aims to simplify the current Income Tax Act, 1961 to help the common man understand the income tax laws and reduce litigation. The current Income Tax Act 1961 has seen changes from 66 Budgets (including two interim budgets) since its existence.However, many taxpayers may be worried if the new tax bill will actually simplify the laws as it intends to do. As per government sources, here are 10 takeaways from the new income tax bill, 2025 which will impact the taxpayers the most:1. Concept of tax year: The new income tax bill will likely introduce the concept of the tax year. This concept is being introduced to resolve problems that taxpayers face due to the current terms of the assessment year and the previous year. Many taxpayers confuse the assessment year and financial year (previous year) when depositing taxes and filing tax returns. The single merged concept of the tax year will likely help taxpayers know for which ITRs are being filed and taxes are being deposited.2. No change in the financial year: Taxpayers should remember that the financial year concept has not changed. The financial year will start on April 1 and end on March 31. The new income tax bill will not follow the calendar year as a tax year.Also Read: New Income Tax Bill 2025 Expectations Live3. Changes in sections: The new income tax bill is likely to change the sections under the new income tax bill. For instance, under the current Income Tax Act, income tax return filing is covered under Section 139, and the new tax regime is covered under Section 115BAC. The new income tax bill will likely the section number being changed. This is likely to happen as the language of the direct tax laws will be simplified. Due to this, changes can happen in the sections of the Income Tax Act, 2025.4. No change in the residency laws: According to sources, the new income tax bill has not changed the residency laws. They are likely to remain the same in the new act as well. Current income tax laws divide the residency provisions into three categories:Ordinarily resident individualNon-ordinarily resident individualsNon-residents individualsAccording to tax experts, there is a need for a change in the residency laws. The current residency laws require taxpayers to look back for 10 years to determine their residential status in the current financial year.5. Comprehensive Income Tax Bill: In a bid to simplify the current income tax laws, the new income tax bill has made some changes. Sandeep Jhunjhunwala, M&A Tax Partner at Nangia Andersen LLP says, "Carved out now in 23 chapters divided into 536 sections and 16 schedules, over 600 pages, a quick look at the new bills demonstrates its comprehensiveness compared to existing Income Tax Act with 298 sections and 14 schedules.""This increase in sections reflects a more structured approach to tax administration, incorporating modern compliance mechanisms, digital governance, and streamlined provisions for businesses and individuals," AMRG & Associates Senior Partner Rajat Mohan told PTI.7. Ease of interpretation for taxpayers: Jhunjhunwala says, “The concepts of explanations and provisos have been removed from the new version, for ease of interpretation and understanding. New concepts such as tax year, instead of previous year and assessment year, have been introduced.”Deductions from salaries, such as standard deduction, gratuity, leave encashment, etc, have now been tabulated in one place instead of being scattered over different sections and rules. The new income tax bill has simplified the computation of depreciation for businesses by providing the formula. 8. Ease in TDS compliance but more headache later: “All TDS-related sections have been brought together under a single clause with simple tables, for ease of understanding, though this would mean post implementation of this bill, a lot of changes would be required in forms and utilities, for reporting purposes”, says Jhunjhunwala.9. No change in ITR filing deadlines, income tax slabs, and capital gains: As announced in Budget 2025, no changes have been made to the income tax return filing deadlines, income tax slabs, and capital gains taxations to promote tax certainty for taxpayers. 10. Implementation of the new law: According to tax experts and government sources, the new income tax bill is likely to come into effect from April 1, 2026, i.e. from FY 2026-27. Jhunjhunwala says, "The new law is likely to be effective only from April 1, 2026, which implies that computation of taxable income and its reporting, for Financial Years ending March 2025 and March 2026, would still be required to be done under the existing Income Tax Act itself."