Liquor worth 197 crore sold on Day 2 in Karnataka amidst coronavirus lockdown. Over 36 lakh litres of Indian Made Liquor (IML) worth ₹182 crore and over 7 lakh litres of beer valued at ₹15 crore was sold on Tuesday, the excise department confirmed. Long queues were seen in many parts of Bengaluru and other parts of the state where a total of 4,200 stores have been permitted to sell liquor in the state. Liquor sales brought in ₹21,450 crore in the previous financial year (till 24 March) as against a fiscal target of ₹20,950 crores.
This year, the department lost out on an entire month (April) in which there is normally higher sales of beer. Karnataka has set a target of ₹22,700 crore. The Karnataka government on Wednesday announced a tax hike of 17 per cent on liquor in the state.The special 11 per cent 'COVID19 fees' comes in addition to 6 per cent hike on excise that the state government had announced in its budget for 2020-2021 taking the total hike in taxes to 17 per cent. The announcement on hike was made by CM BS Yediyurappa while announcing an economic relief package to farmers, weavers, construction workers, MSMEs and workers from the unorganised sector.