SKOL BREWERIES LTD. Vs. STATE OF ORISSA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) M /s. SKOL Breweries Ltd., the petitioner, is a company registered under the Companies Act. This company has challenged the imposition of franchise fees as well as the amendment of the Boards Excise Rules whereby Sub -Rule 4 of Rule 104 of the Boards Excise Rules has been amended providing for levying of franchise fees.

(2.) THE petitioner company is a subsidiary of M/s. Shaw Wallace Breweries Ltd. (SWBL) and manufactures its own product. The petitioners case is that it is not tied up with any manufacturing company which is outside the State for brewing and bottling beer for and on behalf of such manufacturing company.

(3.) AN application for merger was submitted under Section 394 of the Companies Act before the Honble Company Judge of this High Court and Honble Company Judge by an order dated 21st February 2002 allowed the said application for amalgamation and directed that all properties, rights, powers and interest of the Transferor Company, that is ECBDL, as specified in the schedule, be transferred to and vested in the Transferee Company that is, petitioner company. Pursuant to that order of the Company Court, the Registrar, Company issued an appropriate certificate on 1.5.2002. The ECBDL thus lost its existence as a company and the petitioner company became the sole owner of its brewery at Paradip and it is known as SKOL Breweries Ltd. (Unit; East Coast Breweries). After the amalgamation, the petitioner made an application on 11.6.2002 for incorporation of its name in the existing licence for brewing and bottling, which was in the name of ECBDL. After the application was kept pending for sometime, the same was granted to the petitioner on 8.2.2003. The said grant of licence, according to the petitioner, will relate back to the date when the application was made for the grant.