United Breweries' ₹275-crore tax demand cut to zero by Maharashtra tribunal

Beer maker United Breweries Ltd (UBL) on Tuesday (May 12) said it received a favourable order from the Maharashtra Sales Tax Tribunal, Mumbai, which reduced a tax demand related to FY19 to nil. The company said the order was passed by Bench-III of the Maharashtra Sales Tax Tribunal and was received on May 11, 2026.

The dispute relates to an assessment order passed under the Central Sales Tax Act by the Deputy Commissioner of Sales Tax, Mumbai, on March 31, 2023, which had raised a demand of ₹275 crore

for the financial year 2018-19.

United Breweries said it had earlier secured relief from the First Appellate Authority, Joint Commissioner (Appeals), on March 28, 2024, which substantially reduced the demand to ₹7 crore. The company said it subsequently defended the order before the tribunal, following which the demand has now been reduced to nil.

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United Breweries said the outcome would result in a reduction in contingent liability and added that there are no financial implications due to compensation or penalty.

Fourth quarter results

United Breweries reported a net profit of ₹101.7 crore for the fourth quarter, compared with ₹97.4 crore in the same period last year, marking a 4.4% year-on-year increase. The figure was below the CNBC-TV18 poll estimate of ₹106 crore.

Revenue for the quarter stood at ₹2,247.8 crore, down 3.2% from ₹2,321.4 crore a year earlier. It also came in below the CNBC-TV18 poll estimate of ₹2,450 crore.

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EBITDA fell 25.3% year-on-year to ₹139.1 crore from ₹186.3 crore, and was lower than the CNBC-TV18 poll estimate of ₹190 crore. The EBITDA margin declined to 6.2% from 8% in the corresponding quarter last year, falling short of the projected 7.8%.

Volume growth for the quarter stood at 4.1%, compared with the CNBC-TV18 poll estimate of 2–4%.

Shares of United Breweries Ltd ended at ₹1,411.10, down by ₹2.70, or 0.19%, on the BSE today, May 12.