BENGALURU: If everything goes well, expensive liquor in Karnataka will be cheaper. The State Excise Department is planning to reduce the price of expensive liquor after studying the price model in other states. With this, the Karnataka government is eyeing additional income hoping for an increase in sales. The revenue collection in 2021-22 was `26,276.83 cr against their target of Rs 24,580 crore. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai in his budget announced the target to collect Rs 29,000 in 2022-23.
Excise Minister K Gopaliah told The New Indian Express that they are considering reducing the price of expensive liquor in Karnataka. For this, they are forming five teams, each to visit different states including Maharashtra, Telangana, Kerala , Delhi and West Bengal, to study prices of expensive liquor and the excise duty slabs. “After the elections for the Members of Legislative Council in the first week of June, we will go and study. We will implement it here on a pilot basis,” he said.
Sources from the Excise department said on an average D 75 cr revenue is collected per day in Karnataka.
“In Karnataka, we have 18 different slabs, higher the price of liquor, higher the tax. As many as 85% of the revenue generation is from the first four lower slabs.
State’s excise duty is the highest in the country
The lowest four slabs are sold more, which comes to around Rs 56 to Rs 80 per 180 ml of liquor. The remaining 15 per cent of the revenue comes from the remaining 14 slabs. If the price of top few slabs — which includes the expensive liquor — are slashed, the sales and the revenue from the lower slab will not get affected,” sources said.Karnataka is one of the top states in consumption of liquor, but its excise duty is the highest leading to lower revenue generation.
Ashish Kothare, former head of Bengaluru Chapter of National Restaurants Association of India, said in Karnataka, lower slab liquor is widely sold. “If the state reduces the top slab prices, it is making an attempt to allow people to upscale and can afford better quality liquor. The existing price is high. With this, the state can hope to get more revenue as they are focusing on earning more from the slab which is not touched much,’’ he said. He further said the cost of a Jameson Irish Whiskey bottle is `3,500 in Karnataka, while the same bottle costs Rs 2,460 in Delhi.