The International Spirits & Wines Association of India (ISWAI), the apex body of the premium AlcoBev sector, has strongly urged the Karnataka government to consider the rationalisation of additional excise duty on premium products in order to generate revenues from the local consumption of quality premium brands.
The current taxation structure in the State has resulted in India-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) consumption being skewed towards the cheap segment due to the substantial differences in MRP between the cheap and the premium AlcoBev products where cheaper brands are far cheaper, and the premium brands are far costlier than in other States, as per the ISWAI.
Karnataka is one of the largest AlcoBev-consuming States in India. However, the overall excise revenue generation is not in line with the consumption as even States which have lower consumption are generating comparatively higher revenues, according to the apex body.
