Representative image of liquor bottles.
Credit: iStock Photo
It is no joke when people say they go to Goa just for drinking because compared to the rest of India, Goa has the lowest tax rates on its liquor.
According to an analysis by The International Spirits and Wines Association of India for The Times of India, a bottle of spirit (non-beer) that would cost Rs 100 in Goa can cost as high as Rs 513 in Karnataka.
As per the report, while the tax levied on liquor in Goa is 49 per cent of the MRP, in Karnataka it is 83 per cent, followed by 71 per cent in Maharashtra, 69 per cent in Rajasthan, 68 per cent in Telangana, 66 per cent in Uttar Pradesh, 62 per cent in Delhi. This is because unlike most of the goods, alcohol does not fall under the category of Goods and Services Tax(GST), resulting in multiple tax rates across India. The huge difference in taxes is also one of the reasons that the publication has attributed to smuggling of alcohol in states.
Based on the state Budget presented by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, state excise duty collection was estimated at Rs 29,920.37 crore in 2022-23. The state has also made an ambitious budgetary target of Rs 36,000 crore from liquor sales by March 2024. As per data from the State Excise Department, excise revenue in Karnataka has seen a steady rise increasing from Rs 7.11 crores in the year 1967-68 to Rs 17,948.51 crores in the year 2017-18.
The Siddaramaiah-led government had made similar leaps in revenue collection during 2013-18.