Nestle India pays ₹1,024.5 crore royalty to Swiss parent entity, as sales revenue jumps to ₹23,071 crore in FY26

The general license fees (royalty) paid by FMCG giant Nestle India to Switzerland-based group entity Société des Produits Nestlé SA increased by 13.91%. ₹1,024.5 crore in FY26, according to the company’s latest annual report.

Moreover, Nestle India also paid ‘withholding tax on general license fees’ of ₹ 100,000. ₹102.47 crore for the financial year ending March 2026.

In the last 25 Financial Years, Nestle India has paid general license fee of: ₹899.41 crore and ₹89.71 crore as ‘withholding tax on general license fees’.

Nestlé India continuously benefits from technological advancements and innovations in the product categories it manufactures and sells, while gaining access to Nestlé Group’s technology and intellectual property through General License Agreements for the production and marketing of its products.

It pays a royalty of 4.5% of its net sales to its parent company. Promoters Nestlé SA and Maggi Enterprises Ltd held 62.76% stake in Nestle India as on March 31, 2026.

Nestle India Financials

Last year, shareholders of Nestle India had rejected a proposal to increase the royalties payable to the parent company by 0.15% annually for the next five years to 5.25% of net sales. The company had proposed that the increase be implemented starting July 1, 2024; but failed to gain shareholders’ approval.

“During the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026, there were no material changes to the terms and conditions of the General License Agreements as defined by the Audit Committee and set forth in the RPT Policy,” the annual report said.

Nestle India’s revenue from sales increased by 14.2% in FY26. ₹23,071.46 crore. The company owns popular brands such as Maggi, Nescafé, KitKat, MILKMAID and Cerelac, among others.

There was also a marginal decline in the total number of permanent employees at Nestle India, falling to 8,382 in FY26, despite the company investing in capital expenditure and being in the process of setting up its tenth factory in India.

The number of permanent employees of the company in FY25 was 8,419. This number was 8,736 in FY24, but this number is not comparable because the FY24 figure includes 15 months of data from January 2023 to March 2024 due to a change in the financial reporting schedule.

In FY26, the increase in average wages of employees was 7.3%; This was significantly higher than the previous fiscal. The percentage increase in employees’ average wages in the fiscal year ending March 2025 was 4.9%.

The pay ratio of the company’s Chairman and Managing Director Manish Tiwary and his employees is 134:1. Tiwary was appointed as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer on August 1, 2025.