Liquor is most expensive in Karnataka than the rest of country: Report

Karnataka levies 83% tax to the actual price of a liquor which makes it costly compared to the other states.

Published on: Sep 25, 2023, 09:41:50 IST

By HT News Desk

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Karnataka stands top in the country when it comes to liquor prices and tax on maximum retail price (MRP) is also high in Karnataka, compared to the other states, said a report by The Times of India. Karnataka levies 83% tax to the actual price of a liquor which makes it costly compared to the other states.

Liquor is most expensive in Karnataka than the rest of country: Report (Photo: Sakib Ali/ Hindustan Times)

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According to the report, a bottle of spirit (non-beer) which costs ₹100 in Goa is costing almost ₹513 in Karnataka and Telangana stands at second place. The high taxes and recent increase in liquor prices are adding up the value and put Karnataka in the top position. Goa turned out to be the state where liquor prices are cheaper than the other states.

In the first budget since the Congress government was voted to power in Karnataka, chief minister Siddaramaiah increased duty on all 18 slabs of Indian Made Liquor (IML) by 20% and on beer by 10 %. The revenue target for the excise department’s target was also hiked to ₹ 36,000 crore.

However, the government’s plans seem to have taken a hit as according to the statement from the Federation of Wine Merchants’ Association, Karnataka, the first two weeks of August have seen a significant decline in both sales and revenue.

Despite positive figures in July, in the first half of August, only 21.87 lakh boxes of IML were sold, marking a 14.25% decrease from the sales recorded during the same period in August 2022. “The new prices came into effect from July 20 and sales of the old stock would have continued till the end of the month. But after the new prices have come, the demand has reduced,” an official of the association said.

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