Karnataka clocks ₹2,460 crore revenue from liquor sales in June
The revenue in June is higher compared to the ₹1,400 crore clocked in May due to license fee and a wider range of establishments were allowed to sell liquor
Karnataka recorded ₹2460 crore in revenue from liquor sales in June, higher than in May, that brings in much-needed funds to help the state government’s effort to battle the covid-19 pandemic and the overall economic uncertainty.
The revenue in June is higher compared to the ₹1,400 crore clocked in May due to license fee and a wider range of establishments were allowed to sell liquor.
Out of ₹2460 crore, around ₹2000 crore was revenue from sale of Indian Made Liquor or IML and around ₹190 crore from beer sales, officials at the Karnataka excise department said.
“Around ₹270 crore in the total revenue is licence fees," said one official, requesting not to be named.
Nearly 56.30 lakh boxes of IML and 21.54 boxes of beer was sold, the official cited above said.
The funds come in a time when Karnataka has been grappling with the rise in covid-19 cases and is strapped for funds to battle the virus as taps from the centre to the state run dry in the new goods and services tax (GST) regime. The fund crunch in Karnataka is taking a more severe turn after lost revenues due to the three months of covid-19 induced lockdown and the possibility of a relapse due to the spike in numbers.
Though excise is a state subject, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah-led centre had restricted liquor sales across the country as part of the lockdown announced on 24 March.
However, the centre allowed liquor sales outside containment zones on 4 May and this brought in much needed revenues. Subsequently, the Karnataka government permitted even restaurants, bars and even microbreweries to sell its existing stock even though in-house service is still restricted. Karnataka, one of the highest liquor consuming states, has set a fiscal target of ₹22,700 crore for 2020-21. The fund crunch had forced the state to hike duty on liquor by 17-25%, that is expected to shore in at least an additional ₹2000 crore. Another senior official of the excise department said that the momentum of high sales will slow down and current trends do not indicate if it can achieve its fiscal targets, let alone exceed it.
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