COVID-19 impact: Liquor sales down by 33% in state

Team Udayavani, Jul 9, 2020, 10:46 AM IST

Bengaluru: State government is facing a sharp dip of 33.88% in the sale of Indian-made liquor (IML) in Karnataka during the first quarter of 2020-21, due to the lockdown in place to control spread of COVID-19.

The revenue of the Excise Department saw a decline of 33.22% in the first quarter of the fiscal compared to the same period last year.

Reportedly, the government had expected revenue of Rs 20,950 crore from the sale of liquor in the budget of 2019-20. However, till June 2019, it had amassed Rs 5,760.14 crore. Similarly, in the 2020-21 budget, the proposed revenue from the sale of liquor was Rs 22,700 crore. However, till June 2020 the earnings from the sale of liquor are only Rs 1,913.38 crore.

The closure of bars and restaurants since the announcement of the nationwide lockdown on March 25 was a major cause of the decline in liquor sales in the State.