BENGALURU: For beer enthusiasts, there could be some good news brewing. In a move to boost revenue and cater to the growing demand for tap (draught) beer, the government is said to be “mulling upon” issuing new “independent” or “stand alone” licences for Retail Vend of Beer (RVB) outlets in the 11 city corporations in the state, highly placed sources told TNIE. “There is, however, no official confirmation on the same,” they added.
Draught, or draft beer, is a beer stored in kegs and served straight from the tap. It is fresh in comparison to bottled beer; has a crisp taste and pleasant foamy head.
As of now, RVB is offered on request as an attached licence to clubs (CL4), hotels and boarding lodges (CL7), bars and restaurants (CL9) and star hotels (CL-6A). The Excise licence fee for an attached RVB is Rs 15,000, which is to be paid additionally by the licencee with the main licence fee annually. The licence fee for each of the licence categories is different, and depends on the location of the outlet, with those in city corporation limits being the most expensive.
The practice of issuing licences for independent RVBs was prevalent earlier, but was stopped more than a decade ago. Of the 733 RVB licences in Karnataka, only 64 are independent outlets. Most of them are located in Bengaluru.
“There is a big demand for keg or tap beer among beer drinkers. The government is mulling issuing licences for independent, stand alone RVB outlets in the 11 city corporations in the state -- Bengaluru, Belagavi, Ballari, Davangere, Hubballi-Dharwad, Mangaluru, Mysuru, Kalaburagi, Shivamogga, Tumakaru and Vijayapura -- after eliciting public opinion on the issue. The discussion is at a nascent stage,” said sources, on condition of anonymity.
“The licence fee for a new independent RVB is also on the discussion table, and may be pegged at around Rs 2 lakh annually. There will be conditions for setting up an RVB. The government will issue a public notice to elicit feedback from people. The final notification will be issued only after due process,” said sources.
Bengaluru, India’s biggest tap beer market
According to industry sources, Bengaluru is India’s biggest market for tap beer, which includes microbreweries that offer craft beer.
“There are 65 microbreweries in Bengaluru, from the earlier 71. Some shut down during the Covid-19 pandemic. Around 35 new microbreweries are in the pipeline now in the city alone,” said sources in the Food & Beverage (F&B) industry.
As of now, the major players in the draught beer segment are Kingfisher, Budweiser, Bira, Geist and Toit, apart from the microbreweries that brew their own craft beer. “There are 16 kinds of tap beers available and growing by the day,” they added.
For subsequent governments, beer has always been a potential revenue engine. The Excise revenue for 2023-24 was revised twice this year, from Rs 32,000 crore in February by former BJP chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, to Rs 36,000 crore by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in his Budget on July 7.
He also announced a 10 per cent hike in beer along with 20 per cent hike in Additional Excise Duty (AED) on all the 18 slabs of Indian Made Liquor.