Zambia: Zambian Breweries to compensate Melissa Supermarket

Lusaka High Court Judge Marvin Mwanamwambwa on February 2 ordered Zambian Breweries to compensate Melissa Supermarket over K68 million that was occasioned as a result of inflated invoices, AllAfrica Global Media posted on February 3.

Melissa Supermarket had sued Zambian Breweries for overpayment that resulted from the signed agreement for the delivery of various lagers. According to the evidence on record, the K68 million overpayment was on account of the salesmen or employees who delivered various types of lager beers and other liquor.

The agreement was signed for the delivery of lager beers to Northmead and Kabulonga Melissa shops. During the course of business, the Zambian Breweries employees submitted false, inflated and overstated figures contained in invoices.

Melissa Supermarket argued that it settled all the payments required on various occasions between August 20, 1999 and August 25, 2003.

They contended that during the course of business, the salesmen conjured fraudulent schemes by preparing and submitting inflated figures on invoices purported to have been delivered and the money was settled in full.

However, when Melissa and Zambian Breweries reconciled their transactions for the same period, they discovered the anomalies. Judge Mwanamwambwa noted in the judgment that Zambian Breweries initially denied liability but later conceded during trial. He then ordered Zambian Breweries to compensate Melissa Supermarket and pay other costs incurred during the trial period.

E-malt.com, the global information source for the brewing and malting industry professionals. The bi-weekly E-malt.com Newsletters feature latest industry news, statistics in graphs and tables, world barley and malt prices, and other relevant information. Click here to get full access to E-malt.com. If you are a Castle Malting client, you can get free access to E-malt.com website and publications. Contact us for more information at marketing@castlemalting.com .