By Ayodele Oni
A High Court, sitting in Akure, Ondo state capital, has ordered the Nigerian Breweries Plc to pay the sum of N169.175million as the haulage fees the company is owing the State Government.
The Court, also, ordered that the company should be sealed until it is able to pay the debt.
The company had approached the court to challenge the demand notices served on it by the Ondo State Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives for the payment of the fee last year .
The respondents in the case were the Ondo State Government, the Ondo State Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives and the Ondo State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice
The petitioner, in the suit no: AK/l45/2020, had asked the court to excempt it from paying the haulage fee.
According to its averrment, “It is not liable to pay for haulage of goods as part of its object and business and the respondents cannot, therefore, demand the payment of haulage fee from the petitioner and/or enforce the payment of haulage fees purportedly due to the respondent from third parties transport/haulage companies against the petitioner.”
It sought also “an order of the court restraining the respondents from further demanding for haulage fees from the petitioner forthwith, as well as restraining the respondents from further harassing and intimidating the employees of the petitioner and from the unlawful disruption and closure of the petitioner’s business premises on the ground of non-payment of haulage fee.”
“An order of the court directing and/or mandating the respondents to directly enforce the payment and/or collection of the alleged haulage fees due to them , directly form the third parties, transport companies, engaged by the petitioner to transport its drink to Akure, being the companies that actually engaged in haulage and/or haulage business, under the Taxes And Levies (Approved List For Collection) Act, (Amendment) Order, 2015, to wit: AOP Logistics Limited and Tasho Nigeria Limited.”
After the series of arguments from the counsels of both the petitioner and the respondents, the court ruled in favour of the state government .
Justice William Akintoroye, dismissed the petition, filed by the NB Plc saying it lacked merit .
The Court held that the first respondent, Ondo State Government, has the constitutional right and it is the constitutional duty of Nigerian Breweries Plc to pay haulage fee to the government being the principal to the transport agencies that convey its product.
The Judge, also, granted the cross-petition of the respondent for the recovery of the sum of N169.175 million from the petitioner, being the haulage fee owed by the petitioner for the period of 2017 to 2019.
