Bira 91 staff seek govt intervention over alleged unpaid dues

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Hundreds of current and former employees of craft beer maker B9 Beverages Ltd, the parent company of Bira 91, have written to multiple government departments alleging severe financial and statutory violations by the company’s management and sought an intervention, according to a letter seen by Moneycontrol, sent on October 28.

The employees have requested authorities including Ministry of Labour and Employment,  Chairman, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) to initiate an "immediate investigation" into B9 Beverages Ltd, according to the letter. Further, they has requested to freeze personal assets of defaulting directors to secure employee and government dues, direct the company to release pending salaries and statutory dues and take necessary criminal and regulatory action against the responsible directors.

The move comes amidst a major operational and financial crisis at Bira's parent, B9 Beverages Ltd., where a seemingly minor name change triggered a cascade of regulatory hurdles, that resulted in months-long sales bans across its key distribution states. The fallout included an estimated Rs 80 crore of inventory write-offs and enabled competitors to gain market share during Bira 91's absence from the market.

The staff note several alleged violations including non-payment of salaries for seven months, unremitted TDS worth about Rs 50 crore, and default on provident fund and gratuity dues.  "Over 600 families associated (current and past) with B9 Beverages are currently suffering severe financial hardship due to prolonged non-payment of salaries and statutory dues," the letter read.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.  Further, the employees have alleged non-payment of dues for the last 7 months and non-settlement of full and final (F&F) dues for "numerous laid-off employees and exit cases".

"There is going to be another round of lay offs this week and the company is likely to operate with 50 core members," said an employee who requested to be anonymous.

The letter names chief executive officer, Ankur Jain, directors Ankeeta Pawa and Shashi Jain, as key individuals behind the fall out.