Quick Summary: Lokranjan Breweries challenged a decision requiring them to pay extra license fees for producing more liquor than their average. The court sided with Lokranjan, ruling the fee calculation was unfair.
In this case, Lokranjan Breweries Private Limited took on the State of Maharashtra over a disagreement about license fees for making country liquor. The issue started with an order on March 14, 2024, demanding Lokranjan pay Rs. 24,94,665 for the financial year 2016-17.
The main argument was about how license fees should be calculated. According to a notice from January 30, 2016, fees were based on production. Lokranjan argued that since they produced over 10 lakh cases, the fee should be Rs. 7 per case for all cases. However, the state insisted on a tiered fee: Rs. 10 per case for the first 10 lakh cases and Rs. 7 per case for the rest.
Lokranjan's average production for the previous three years was 8,41,775 cases. They paid Rs. 10 per case in advance, totaling Rs. 84,17,750. When their production exceeded 10 lakh cases, they asked for a refund, claiming they overpaid.
The State maintained Lokranjan owed more, insisting on the tiered method. They issued a warning on December 3, 2021, threatening to cancel the license if the fees weren't paid.
Justice Somasekhar Sundaresan found that other license holders producing over 10 lakh cases were charged the same rate of Rs. 7 per case. Lokranjan was treated differently because their average was below 10 lakh cases before 2016-17.
"The State has rightly treated all producers of more than 10 lakh cases uniformly at the flat rate of Rs. 7 per case."
The court concluded that the different treatment was unfair and didn't make sense. The order demanding extra payment from Lokranjan was canceled, and the State was told to refund or credit any extra payment.
