Happy new year! Liquor sales in K’taka go up at Rs 161 crore on Dec 31

Bengaluru: State Excise Minister H Nagesh informed that liquor worth thousands of crore was sold on December 31, bringing in Rs 150.94 crore in excise revenue till 4 pm.

The minister claimed that the actual figure is Rs 161 crore and this is a slight increase over the last year’s figures.

“However, as compared to the sale of liquor over the entire week, this year has seen a decrease than the last year. The weekly numbers could be less because of the many restrictions in place,” Nagesh claimed.

Meanwhile, the department sources informed that on December 31, 2.23 lakh boxes of Indian Made Liquor (IML) were sold, earning a revenue of Rs 120.21 crore, and 1.73 lakh boxes of beer flew off the counter, bringing in Rs 30.73 crore revenues. On the same day last year, 3.62 lakh boxes of IML and 1.30 lakh boxes of beer were sold, earning Rs 119.97 crore in revenues.

Despite a nearly 8.5% decline in the sale of Indian Made Liquor (IML) this year, the growth in the excise revenue collection has turned positive for the first time this financial year.

Prohibitory orders were in place in Bengaluru from 12 noon on December 31 till 6 am on January 1, dampening the party spirit.