State excise licence renewal cannot be ordered by an insolvency tribunal without compliance with statutory fee requirements.

Excise remains a State subject, and renewal of an excise licence is governed by the Telangana Excise Act, 1968 and the Telangana Distillery (Manufacture of Spirits) Rules, 2006. Those provisions require compliance with prescribed conditions, including payment of the renewal fee, and do not create an automatic right to renewal or fee exemption. An insolvency tribunal under the IBC cannot compel renewal of a State excise licence or override the State's statutory scheme in a reserved subject. The direction to renew the licence without insisting on the fee was therefore beyond jurisdiction and could not be sustained.

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Issues: Whether the Adjudicating Authority under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code could direct renewal of an excise licence and waive the prescribed renewal fee, when the field of excise lies within the State domain and renewal is governed by the Telangana Excise Act, 1968 and the Telangana Distillery (Manufacture of Spirits) Rules, 2006.

Analysis: Excise is a State subject under Article 246 of the Constitution of India read with Entry 8 of List II of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. The grant or renewal of an excise licence is a statutory matter governed by the Telangana Excise Act, 1968 and the Telangana Distillery (Manufacture of Spirits) Rules, 2006, which require fulfilment of prescribed conditions including payment of the applicable fee. No automatic right of renewal or exemption from fee is created by those provisions. The Adjudicating Authority, acting under a special insolvency statute, could not assume power to compel renewal of an excise licence without fee or to override the State's statutory prerogatives in a subject reserved to the State.

Conclusion: The direction to renew the excise licence without insisting on the renewal fee was beyond jurisdiction and could not be sustained.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded and the impugned order was set aside, leaving the respondent to pursue any lawful remedy regarding refund, adjustment, or renewal in accordance with the excise .

Ratio Decidendi: An insolvency tribunal cannot direct renewal of a State excise licence or dispense with statutory renewal fees where the subject and conditions of renewal are exclusively governed by State excise law.

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