11.94% increase in Excise revenue in Karnataka despite drop in beer sales

Karnataka reported 11.94% increase in Excise revenue collection despite a steep drop in the sale of beer, which has been attributed to a long spell of rain coupled with floods and a marginal dip in sale of Indian Made Liquor (IML). Beer sales declined steeply by 11.34% and IML sales declined marginally by 0.74% during 2025-2026.

The total sale volume of beer and IML in 2025-2026 is less than what was sold in 2023-2024.

At the end of the financial year, ₹40,056.76 crores had been collected as Excise revenue as against ₹35,783 crore collected during 2024-2025. In 2023-2024, the Excise collection stood at ₹34,628.98 crore. The target for the Excise Department had been set at ₹40,000 crore initially, which had been revised to ₹43,000 crore, in anticipation of higher sales and also expected revenue from auctioning 569 defunct CL 2 and CL 7 licences.

As many as 399.29 lakh cases of beer was sold during 2025-2026 as against 450.36 lakh cases sold in 2024-2025. The sale of beer is less than that reported in 2023-2024 when 444.05 lakh cases were sold.

The sale of IML also dipped, but marginally by 0.74% over the previous year, and the total sale of IML is lower than what was sold in 2023-2024. While 703.62 lakh cases were sold in 2025-2026, 708.85 lakh cases were sold in 2024-2025.

Finance Department officials had also attributed the decline in sales owing to rationalisation of rates, and Government anticipates recovery over six to eight quarters.