KOCHI: Is the Kerala Government’s excise policy favouring Vijay Mallya’s UB Group and Kingfisher brand? It seems so, going by the Kerala State Beverages Corporation Ltd’s price list which shows Bevco has waived off import fee on two Kingfisher brands—Kingfisher Extra Strong Beer and Kingfisher Gold Premium Beer—without the due tender process.
When contacted, Excise Minister K Babu said he would look into the matter. “I have come to know about this only now. We will look into it,” he told The Sunday Standard. Meanwhile, Excise Commissioner Anil Xavier denied any undue favour to the UB Group or the Kingfisher brands. A senior UB Group official said the two brands mentioned were never paying import fee and that the price chart issued on October 9, 2014, (where import fee was fixed against both the brands) was a mistake. He said Bevco corrected the ‘mistake’ in the latest list by removing the import fee. However, this explanation does not hold water as the previous price list on September 30, a copy of which is with The Sunday Standard, also has the import fee fixed against the two brands.
Industry officials said the two Kingfisher brands sell about 5.5 lakh cases per month out of the total of nearly 10 lakh cases of beer consumed in Kerala per month. The loss to the state exchequer would be to the tune of Rs 10 crore per annum. In the last tender of the Kerala State Beverages Corporation (October, 2014) these brands are quoted as supply from outside Kerala and, thereby, the government gets an additional Rs 2/bulk litre of beer (7.8 litres/case) i.e Rs 15.6/case as import fee.
As per Bevco’s rule, any change in supply source from outside the state to within the state or vice versa can only be done through the tender process. After last October, Bevco has not called for a tender except the one which closed on April 16 and is not opened yet.