Telangana: Excise dept earns Rs 419.11 cr from liquor sales in 3 days during Sankranti 

A total of 4.29 lakh cases of liquor IMFL and a total of 5.61 lakh cases of beer were sold to the liquor shops from the depots

Hyderabad: The Telangana Excise wing recorded liquor sales worth about Rs 419.11 crore across the State in just three days during the Sankranti festival season this year.

Going by the numbers, the festival ended up being the best season of sales for the Excise Department in 2023. Across all the depots, a total of 4.29 lakh cases of liquor IMFL (Indian Made Foreign Liquor) and a total of 5.61 lakh cases of beer were sold to the liquor shops from the depots, as per the Excise Department on January 13, 14, and 16. Officials said January 15 was a closed holiday for the depots.

Officials said that during the three days of the festival, the depots were under constant pressure, as the demand for more liquor brands sky-rocketed. On a normal working day, on average, the sales would touch about Rs 75 crore, but on January 13, 14, and 16, the sales values were Rs 153.71 crore, Rs 113.09 crore, and Rs 152.31 crore respectively.

On January 13, a total of 1.62 lakh cases of IMFL liquor and 1.82 lakh cases of beer worth Rs 153.71 crore were sold while on January 14, department officials said that 1.14 lakh cases of IMFL and 1.53 lakh cases of beer worth Rs 113.09 crore were sold. On January 15, a total of 1.53 lakh cases of IMFL and 2.26 lakh cases of beer worth Rs 152.31 lakh were sold.

The State government gets 50 per cent of the excise duty on MRP on beer, while the excise duty on other liquor is estimated between 80-85 per cent. With a good start for 2023, the Excise Department is hoping to rake in more than Rs 40,000 crore in revenue this year, surpassing the income of 2022.