Cheers! State excise revenue grows by 55% in first quarter

Bengaluru: While a complete lockdown hit excise revenues hard last year during the first quarter, the Karnataka Excise Department has registered a 55.41% growth in revenue in the first quarter of 2021-22.

In the first quarter of this fiscal year, between April and June, it has received Rs 5,954.07 crore in excise revenue, which is Rs 2,122.90 crore more than the corresponding period last year – an increase of around 55 per cent.

As per department sources, 154.19 lakh carton boxes (CBs) of Indian Made Liquor were sold in the first quarter, while 45.38 lakh CBs of beer were sold. April saw the highest sales of IML as well as beer.

The State Government’s decision to keep liquor stores open for a few hours in the day during the lockdown seems to have helped mop up the revenues that were otherwise sure to take a beating yet again. Karnataka has achieved nearly its budget estimated targets this time around.

The budget estimate for excise revenue for 2021-22 is Rs 24,580 crore. In the last three months, the state has achieved 24.2 per cent of that target.