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Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Proposed excise licence fee hike cut to 50%: Karnataka govt
The state government on Thursday rolled back its decision to double the liquor excise license renewal fees and announced a more moderate 50% hike, which will come into effect from July 1. The move follows strong opposition from liquor sellers and craft alcohol producers, some of whom threatened to shift operations to other states after the May 15 draft proposal mentioned a 100% hike. Excise minister RB Timmapur 'We had to consider everyone's views, so the CM and I agreed to lower the hike to 50%,' said excise minister RB Timmapur. He admitted that while the original proposal aimed to boost state revenue by ₹ 600–700 crore annually, the government opted for a balanced approach. The state also extended the validity of excise licenses from one year to five years — a key demand from the industry. According to the notification, license fees for hotels and bars in major cities like Bengaluru (with populations above 2 million) were increased to ₹ 2.75 lakh per annum from the earlier ₹ 8.5 lakh. Similarly, renewal fees for retail outlets (CL2), clubs (CL4), and bars and restaurants (CL9) were increased by 50%. Distilleries will now pay ₹ 67.5 lakh annually, up from ₹ 45 lakh, and breweries will see their fees rise from ₹ 27 lakh to ₹ 40.5 lakh, the order stated. As per the order, the license fees of hotels and bars in metropolitan areas with over 2 million residents will have to pay ₹ 9 lakh, while smaller corporations and municipalities will pay between ₹ 6 lakh and ₹ 7.5 lakh. Additional excise categories, including distilleries, warehouses, fortified wine producers, and craft breweries, also face revised annual fees. Craft breweries, for instance, will now pay ₹ 25,000, while distilleries with warehouse facilities will pay ₹ 67 lakh. The revised inspection policy, which has mandated the regulatory checks from an annual to a five-year cycle, was well received by license holders. 'Every year, during the inspections, a few officials tend to demand bribes and an increase in the inspection period is a welcome move as it will bring down corruption,' said Karunakar Hegde, Bengaluru divisional president of the Federation of Wine Merchants Association of Karnataka. 'We would not have been able to run business if the hike was 100%. Though 50% increase will also hit our business, we can somehow manage,' he added. Prior to the rollback, Huli Distillery, Mysuru-based craft rum producer, Aruna Urs said that he never received a response after writing to the state government over a month ago, asking it to reconsider the proposed fee hike. 'For one year of licence fees in Karnataka, I can operate for nearly five years in Goa,' he said, accusing the state of stifling small businesses. Urs added that his company currently pays ₹ 63.1 lakh in fees, which will now increase to ₹ 90 lakh under the new rates. 'This is pure extortion,' he said. The fee hike and the lack of government response prompted offers from neighbouring states. Andhra Pradesh minister Nara Lokesh reportedly reached out to Urs, offering a 'tailor-made excise policy' and inviting the distillery to relocate. Urs posted on social media tagging Congress leaders, saying, 'Is this Congress' idea of ease of doing business...?' Industry experts also pointed out the frequency of tax increases in Karnataka. 'In the past two years, beer taxes have gone up four times—three times through additional excise duty and once through a general hike,' said the director general of the Brewers Association of India. 'This has pushed the price of a beer bottle from about ₹ 160 to ₹ 200,' he said. Stakeholders continue to push for additional relief. 'The government has accepted our plea to extend the license validity to five years, which is a welcome step,' said B Govindaraja Hegde, general secretary of the Karnataka Liquor Sellers' Association. 'But we've also asked for the option to pay the revised fees in installments, and we're hopeful the government will agree to that too,' he added. HT reached out to leader of Opposition R Ashoka for comment, but did not receive any response.
India Today
4 days ago
- Business
- India Today
Forcing us out: Karnataka brewery mulls shifting to other states over 50% fee hike
Mysuru-based Huli Brewery is considering moving operations out of Karnataka following the state government's decision to hike annual distillery licence fees by 50%. The brewery says it is looking at shifting to Goa or Maharashtra, claiming the hike makes it unviable to operate in Karnataka.'This is literally forcing us out. Is this the Congress-led government's idea of ease of doing business?' the company's co-founder and director, Aruna Urs wrote on claimed that a neighbouring state's Chief Minister's office reached out via X, offering to tweak excise policies to suit them if they move. "Meanwhile, we now operate in our CM's constituency and half of our team are his voters!" he wrote. The state government issued the notification the day before yesterday, raising licence fees for all categories, from manufacturers to retailers, by 50 per cent, said Urs.'In May, they proposed a 100 per cent hike in a draft notification. After several industry stakeholders, including us, met the concerned officials and the Chief Minister, the government reduced it to 50 per cent, but applied it uniformly across all categories,' he treated everyone the same, big or small. This will hurt small businesses like us, especially when consumer spending is already down due to high inflation and rising living costs,' he alleged that the government is focusing only on raising money to fund its welfare schemes, ignoring business growth. 'The liquor industry is seen as a cash cow. The economy isn't growing, incomes have stagnated, jobs aren't being created, and this hike only adds to the burden,' Urs added.- Ends IN THIS STORY#Karnataka
The Print
5 days ago
- Business
- The Print
How license fee hikes by Karnataka's Congress govt are driving distillers to neighbouring states
'Is this @INCIndia idea of ease of doing business……' Urs posted late Monday, tagging Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The offer came less than 24 hours after Urs posted on X, threatening to move out of Karnataka, which increased the distillery licence fee by a whopping 50 percent. Bengaluru: Aruna Urs, co-founder of Mysuru-based craft rum distiller, Huli, was driving for work Tuesday when he received a call from a friend delivering an unusual message on behalf of Andhra Pradesh minister Nara Lokesh. Lokesh extended an offer of a 'tailor-made excise policy' and red carpet welcome to encourage Urs to relocate his craft rum micro-distillery to the neighbouring state, according to a source from Lokesh's office. It had been more than a month since Urs wrote to the Karnataka government, asking it to reconsider its original 100 percent license fee increase that was later reduced by half. He received no response. The state government is literally forcing #huli to move out of Mysuru to Goa or Maharashtra. The annual distillery licensee fee has been increased by 50%! Is this @INCIndia idea of ease of doing business @RahulGandhi @siddaramaiah? — Aruna Urs (@Arunaurs) June 23, 2025 'For one year of licence fees in Karnataka, I can operate for nearly five years in Goa,' Urs told ThePrint. The upstart company, which pays Rs 63.10 lakh for various licence fees, will now have to pay Rs 90 lakh to do business in Karnataka. 'This is pure extortion,' Urs said. He compared this to Goa, where he would pay around Rs 20 lakh for the first year and then Rs 17 lakh for each subsequent year. Karnataka's decision to hike the licence fee has opened the door for the neighbouring states to position themselves as more investor-friendly. Each time professionals have complained, whether it's about language or Bengaluru's crumbling infrastructure, neighbouring states like Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have reacted promptly and invited companies or individuals with the promise of a better business environment. Since the rollout of Goods and Services Tax, states rely on excise duties, stamp duty and motor vehicle taxes, as well as other levies, to raise revenues as revenue inflows from the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Union government continue to dry up. For Karnataka, excise, in particular, has been a steady revenue generator. Successive governments have increased excise rates of liquor and beer at every given opportunity to shore up revenues to make up for revenue shortfalls, said industry representatives. 'In less than 24 months, the additional excise duty on the beer industry has been increased three times and excise duty has been increased once in Karnataka. So, four tax increases in less than 24 months in Karnataka. As a result, prices of a bottle (of beer) have gone up from around Rs 160 to Rs 200,' Vinod Giri, director general of The Brewers Association of India (BAI), told ThePrint. Also Read: What's the brewery controversy that has united Congress & BJP against the Left in Kerala 'Open or shut, excise dept forces targets' In the past three financial years, Karnataka has raised its excise targets by over Rs 10,000 crore combined, according to the state economic survey. In 2022-23, the government of Karnataka met its target, earning Rs 29,920.36 crore from the sale of liquor and beer. The target for the ongoing fiscal year is Rs 40,000 crore. But the state's revenue from excise in 2024-25 stood at Rs 36,500 crore compared with the target of Rs 38,525 crore. Trends from at least the past five fiscal years show that revenues and targets from excise on liquor and beer have seen an upward trend. Retailers, hoteliers and other liquor vendors in Bengaluru said high targets only add to pressure from the department to sell more, even though sales have slumped as outlets are forced to shut for elections and processions. 'For even small MLC elections, which have less than 10,000-15,000 voters in some distant place, they make us close our business. Even when a major procession passes through our establishments, we have been forced to close our hotel,' said a Bengaluru-based hotelier, requesting anonymity. 'But this does not mean that we get some concession on the minimum stock purchase. Open or shut, we are expected to buy a quota of liquor every month from the government.' The hotelier added that only in Karnataka does the excise department force closure of restaurants that serve liquor and not just the beverage section, as is the norm in other states. Industry members underlined excise is a heavily regulated sector in Karnataka but several business owners allege the excise department routinely demands bribes during renewals or every month. They alleged that excise inspectors and other officials even land up at hotels to eat and drink for free. At least two people said it was 'harassment' to all those in the liquor business or even remotely connected to the sector. Industry leaders have often cited Karnataka's complex and time-consuming permit process, as well as allegations of widespread corruption, as key deterrents to investing in the state's liquor sector. In November last year, the state wine merchants association accused the excise department of demanding bribes between Rs 30-70 lakh by the state excise minister for allotment of CL-7 licences. 'Govt earns more than the producer' Karnataka has among the highest excise duties, according to multiple people aware of the developments. But, so far, this has not stopped investments in the state, which has 11 major brewers, the highest of all states in the country. Urs said he is a small brewer who needs government support and should not be clubbed with larger players. He added that for every bottle of Huli, its signature jaggery-based rum, the company earns a total revenue of Rs 630, while the government taxes amount to Rs 1,537.50. This takes the price per 750 ml bottle to Rs 2,167. Urs said that the Rs 630 his company earns per bottle has to cover operational expenses – including salaries, electricity bills, raw materials and other production costs, leaving little room for profit. India is one of the fastest-growing alcoholic beverage markets. In 2023, the market size was about $55 billion. It is expected to increase at a CAGR of seven per cent to $73 billion in 2027. However, Giri said Karnataka's liquor industry is under threat since it has become harder to sell investment pitches where operational costs are going up and sales are coming down. There is a misconception that a hike in prices does not affect consumption at all, he added. He said that the 'tendency to overtax' will lead to the industry and government turning into 'net losers'. 'Karnataka was always an investment-friendly state and is the only state that has 11 breweries, the highest in the country. And there were more plans for investments. But when the sales start contracting, what do we tell the companies and why would they invest?' said Giri. The government, however, stood by its decision to increase prices and operating costs for distilleries. Ritesh Kumar Singh, principal secretary in the Karnataka finance department, defended the government's decision, saying that while underlying inflationary pressures affect all products, liquor is relatively insulated. Singh told ThePrint that an increase in taxes actually helps producers increase prices of end products in a tightly controlled market where prices cannot be raised or dropped by market forces. 'The original plan was to double it (licence fee) since it hadn't been increased for the last eight years. But there was a lot of hue and cry and people with many stating that it was too high, then we settled for a 50 percent increase,' he said. Adding, 'And if you distribute this 50 percent increase over eight years and do an annual CAGR, it is 5 percent. Why are people complaining?' (Edited by Sugita Katyal) Also Read: Another hike in diesel price, how Karnataka govt is fishing for funds to bankroll poll promises
Hindustan Times
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Trust opens Ram Darbar for devotees, darshan passes to be issued
The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust has opened the Ram Darbar for devotees on the first floor of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. The Trust took the decision on Friday (June 13), eight days after the pran pratishtha (consecration) of the Ram Darbar on June 5. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath had presided over the pran pratishtha ceremony. 'The Trust has started offering darshan of Ram Darbar along with Ram Lalla. This new development allows devotees to pay their respects to both Ram Lalla and the Ram Darbar. To manage the large number of devotees, a quota system has been implemented for darshan passes,' a Trust member said. According to the Trust, 200 passes will be issued – 100 allocated to the district administration and 100 to the Trust. The Trust also stated that 100 Sugam Darshan (easy access) passes will be issued – 50 allocated to the district administration and 50 to the Trust. The Ram Darbar darshan will be available in six time slots: 7-9 am, 9-11 am, 1-3 pm, 3-5 pm, 5-7 pm, and 7-9 pm. Each time slot will have 300 devotees. Devotees need to mention Ram Darbar darshan in their pass application form and the passes will be issued based on availability, the Trust said. The decision to start Ram Darbar darshan was taken after a meeting between the Trust and officials of the Ayodhya administration. Trust member Anil Mishra confirmed the decision was made in the evening. He stated that, similar to the passes offered for Ram Lalla's darshan, passes will also be made available for those wishing to visit the Ram Darbar. The Ram Darbar consists of the idols of Lord Ram and Mata Sita seated on a throne with Hanuman and Bharat depicted in a prayerful posture at their feet and Lakshman and Shatrughan standing beside them. Jaipur-based sculptor Satya Narain Pandey and his team have crafted Ram Darbar, which is made of white Makrana marble. Pandey's idol design had lost out to that of Mysuru-based artist Arun Yograj ahead of the 2024 ceremony. In January 2024, the Trust selected Arun Yogiraj, the Mysuru-based artist's idol for the pran pratishtha ceremony of Ram Lalla. The Ram Lalla idol is made of Krishna shila (black schist) and depicts the deity as a five-year-old boy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had presided over pran pratishtha of Ram Lalla on January 22, 2024, at the temple's sanctum- sanctorum on the ground floor.
Deccan Herald
11-06-2025
- Science
- Deccan Herald
Mysuru's DFRL understands gravity of astronauts' food cravings
Mysuru: The launch of the Axiom-4 mission carrying Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and three others to the International Space Station (ISS) may have been postponed. .But Mysuru-based Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL), under DRDO, has prepared a variety of food items that were to have been carried as part of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) have developed an Indian menu for space after years of with scientific instruments and personal mementoes, Shubhanshu would have carried Mysuru-made food to the ISS in the Axiom-4 mission that has now been put off. .SpaceX's Axiom 4 mission postponed again, India's Shubhanshu Shukla's maiden journey to ISS officer Madhukar confirmed to DH that the astronaut was to carry a few Indian foods for the mission, including mango nectar (aam ras), carrot halwa (gajar ka halwa), moong dal halwa and a few rice human spaceflight programme director had disclosed this in a meeting held recently in Bengaluru..'As per the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Isro and DRDO, we are not allowed to give out more details,' Madhukar said..'We are excited that the food products prepared here will be tasted by astronauts of the ISS mission. It is an effort to make the Indian astronaut's space mission memorable,' he cookies and candies are packed for space trips. NASA's space food systems laboratory produces freeze-dried this time the Indian astronaut will have Indian food on DFRL has developed a range of ready-to-eat and semi-hydrated Indian dishes for the mission, tailored for zero gravity. This includes parathas, vegetable biryani, rice and dal, sambar, rajma, khichdi and food has been designed in such a way that it is lightweight, low-volume and easy-to-consume wholesome food. The astronaut just has to add water to the items and warm it before eating it in tickled Rakesh Sharma's taste buds DFRL was established in Mysuru in 1961 to cater to the needs of the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force, and paramilitary forces. It aims to design light-weight food with a longer shelf life under varied climatic had also prepared and packed food for Rakesh Sharma four decades ago.
