Supreme Court Admits Parle Agro’s Appeal against Chhattisgarh HC Ruling Classifying ‘Frooti’ as Non-Alcoholic Beverage [Read Order]
The Court permitted filing of additional documents and scheduled the matter for final hearing on 11 March 2026.
The Supreme Court has granted leave in challenge to the Chhattisgarh High Court judgment that classified “Frooti” under Entry 14 of Schedule-II of the Chhattisgarh Entry Tax Act, 1976 as a non-alcoholic drink rather than a fruit product.
The Court admitted the Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by M/s Parle Agro Pvt. Ltd., challenging the 11.09.2018 judgment of the Chhattisgarh High Court that upheld the classification of “Frooti” as a non-alcoholic beverage under Entry 14 of Schedule-II of the Chhattisgarh Entry Tax Act, 1976.
The appellants, M/s Parle Agro Pvt. Ltd. had approached the High Court arguing that “Frooti” was a fruit product and therefore should fall under the residuary entry, not Entry 14 of Schedule-II of the Chhattisgarh Entry Tax Act, 1976, which governs non-alcoholic drinks and beverages. They contended that “Frooti” derived its identity from fruit and could not be included in an entry covering beverages of different origin or character.
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The High Court, however, rejected this reasoning and held that Entry 14 of Schedule-II of the Chhattisgarh Entry Tax Act, 1976 sufficiently covered fruit-based drinks, ruling that “Frooti” is a non-alcoholic beverage for tax purposes. The appeal before the Division Bench reaffirmed the Single Judge’s view and dismissed Parle Agro’s argument that the product must be classified only as a fruit product.
The Court ruled that the appeal had no merit, therefore, was dismissed, affirming that “Frooti” should be taxed at the rate applicable to non-alcoholic beverages.
Aggrieved by this outcome, Parle Agro filed SLP before the Apex Court. The Bench comprising Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma granted permission to file additional documents and listed the appeal for final hearing on 11 March 2026.
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