India
oi-Gaurav Sharma
Old Monk manufacturer Mohan Rocky Springwater Pvt Ltd has alleged losses of over ₹500 crore following the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) restriction on sales of the rum in Maharashtra if label is changed to describe it as ‘rum-like’.
The dispute was before Bombay High Court on Monday when Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, representing FSSAI, said sales would be permitted only if the company accepted the proposed labelling change.
Mohan Rocky Springwater, the Old Monk manufacturer, claims over ₹500 crore losses and ₹350 crore revenue loss for Maharashtra due to FSSAI’s sales ban over ‘added flavour’ labelling, a dispute currently before the Bombay High Court.
Representing the manufacturer, advocate Venkatesh Dhond told the court that the restriction on sales from its unit in Thane district has caused corporate losses of more than ₹500 crore. It also alleged that the Maharashtra excise department had lost around ₹350 crore in revenue, while 300 workers had been left idle.
The company argued that Old Monk continued to be sold in other states despite the restriction in Maharashtra and challenged the FSSAI’s prohibition order.
The manufacturer had earlier submitted revised draft labels removing disputed age-related descriptions and prominently disclosing the presence of ‘added flavour’, but the regulator did not approve the revised labels, and negotiations between the two sides failed to resolve the dispute.
FSSAI has raised concerns over products containing added rum flavouring being marketed as rum, arguing that such labelling could mislead consumers about the spirit’s composition, and objected to descriptions on Old Monk labels, including ‘7 years old blended’ and ‘very old vatted’, citing alleged violations of labelling requirements.
