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Guinness Nigeria has filed a Notice of Discontinuance for the lawsuit it instituted against the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Attorney General of the Federation over the $5 million (N1 billion) fine imposed on the beverage manufacturing giant in November.

According to a statement released by Guinness Nigeria on Thursday, the company is withdrawing the case after receiving a letter on February 15, 2016 from NAFDAC in which the regulator stated it “supercede the decisions contained in the Agency’s letter dated 9th November 2015.”

In November last year, NAFDAC imposed a fine of N1 billion on Guinness Nigeria for allegedly revalidating and using expired raw materials without prior approval. Guinness had issued a statement saying it was negotiating with the regulator but the company later took legal action challenging the fine.

As part of the resolution, NAFDAC will supervise the destruction of the expired raw materials in Guinness Nigeria's warehouse. Both parties have also agreed that this would be the procedure for the exercise going forward.

Guinness Nigeria also agreed to pay N11.4 million to NAFDAC as administrative and service charges. The fee covers NAFDAC’s inspection costs and the Agency’s supervision of the destruction of the raw materials to be carried out by Guinness Nigeria.

Guinness Nigeria is the local subsidiary of Diageo, the British beer and drinks giant. The company is also the second largest brewer in Nigeria, after Nigerian Breweries, with 25 percent market share.