E-Paper
Revenue from liquor sales dips due to lockdown
The liquor sales revenue for the government for 2020- 2021 has dipped due to the closure of all liquor shops in the aftermath of lockdown announced by the state government in Pune Region
The liquor sales revenue for the government for 2020- 2021 has dipped due to the closure of all liquor shops in the aftermath of lockdown announced by the state government in Pune Region.
The district saw liquor revenue earnings amounting to ₹1,797 crore for the current year in comparison to ₹1,805 crores for 2019-2020. The state government has however permitted home delivery of liquor which has also caused lesser sale of liquor in the market, excise department officials said.
During the last lockdown, all liquor shops were also shut and during the said period, the state noticed that the revenue earnings of the government had come down drastically which prompted it to take the decision to open all the shops under the law of essential services. For 2021, the liquor shops were functioning full steam in the months of January, February, and March but were shut down due to rising infections in the state.
State excise superintendent Santosh Zagade said, “The lockdown announced by the state government to break the chain of the virus had an impact on sale of liquor. There has been a significant decline in liquor sales following the lockdown and home delivery has not got the expected response.”
The excise department in its crackdown on illicit liquor has recovered booze worth ₹19 crore during the past two years during Covid-19 outbreak. It had lodged 3,526 cases in 2019-2020 and 3,040 cases in 2020-2021
With liquor shops shut since the lockdown in March and subsequent shutdown extensions due to Covid-19 pandemic, the state excise department for Pune region has pegged its losses for the industry between April and September 2020 at ₹190 crore.
Also, September witnessed a decline of 50.88 per cent of the revenue earnings for the region as the department could fetch only ₹127.92 crore for the said month as compared to ₹178.80 crore during the same period last year. Percentagewise, the overall decline has been at least 21.74 per cent, excise department officials said.
