Business · Companies · 3 hrs ago
Old Monk maker says Maharashtra sales restriction caused major losses
Old Monk maker Mohan Rocky Springwater is challenging an FSSAI sales restriction linked to the rum’s formulation and labels.
The company told the Bombay High Court that the restriction has caused it losses of more than ₹500 crore and cost Maharashtra about ₹350 crore in excise revenue.
The dispute followed an inspection of the company’s Khopoli plant, where the regulator objected to added rum flavouring and age-related claims on labels.
FSSAI says the product should be labelled “rum-like” if it is made with neutral alcohol and added rum flavouring, rather than sold simply as rum.
The company says the same formulation continues to be sold from its other units in Maharashtra, while sales from the affected unit remain restricted.
The court will hear the case again on October 23; it has not granted an immediate pause to the restriction.
Mohan Rocky Springwater Pvt Ltd told the Bombay High Court that a restriction on sales from its Maharashtra unit caused company losses exceeding ₹500 crore.
The company said the restriction also cost the Maharashtra government around ₹350 crore in excise revenue.
The manufacturer is challenging an FSSAI prohibition order over Old Monk’s formulation and labelling.
The FSSAI says the product should be labelled as a flavoured spirit or “rum-like” because it uses neutral alcohol and added rum flavouring.
The court is scheduled to hear the matter next on October 23.
- Who
- Mohan Rocky Springwater Pvt Ltd, the Old Monk manufacturer, is challenging the restriction. The FSSAI issued the prohibition order.
- What
- The company says a restriction on sales from one Maharashtra unit caused losses exceeding ₹500 crore and reduced state excise revenue by around ₹350 crore.
- When
- The company made its submission on Monday. The next hearing is scheduled for October 23.
- Where
- The dispute is before the Bombay High Court and concerns the company’s Khopoli plant in Maharashtra.
- Why
- The FSSAI objects to the product’s composition and labelling, including its use of added rum flavouring and age-related descriptions.
Mohan Rocky Springwater Pvt Ltd
FSSAI and the authorities
Product description
Mohan Rocky Springwater Pvt Ltd
The company argues that regulations permit approved additives in neutral spirits and says its product can be sold as rum.
FSSAI and the authorities
The FSSAI says a spirit made with neutral alcohol and added rum flavouring should not be marketed simply as rum and should be accurately labelled.
Sales restriction
Mohan Rocky Springwater Pvt Ltd
The company says the restriction has caused losses exceeding ₹500 crore and notes that its other Maharashtra units continue to sell the same formulation.
FSSAI and the authorities
The authorities say sales would be permitted if the product description were changed from “rum” to “rum-like”.
The Bombay High Court declined to grant an immediate interim stay on the prohibition.
The manufacturer agreed to submit revised labels removing disputed age-related descriptions and prominently disclosing “added flavour”, but the regulator did not approve them.
The company told the Bombay High Court that the restriction had caused losses exceeding ₹500 crore and cost the state around ₹350 crore in excise revenue.
The court is scheduled to hear the matter next.
- Company
- Mohan Rocky Springwater Pvt Ltd
- Company losses
- More than ₹500 crore
- State excise revenue
- Around ₹350 crore
- Affected plant
- Khopoli, Maharashtra
- Next hearing
- October 23
What people are saying
The excise has also lost around ₹350 crore in revenue,
Sources
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