Brewers’ body asks Karnataka govt to withdraw draft notifications, fear 10-20% price hike
Bengaluru: The Brewers Association of India (BAI) has urged the Karnataka government to withdraw its proposed amendments to beer regulations and tax increases, stating that these changes would negatively impact both the industry and the government.
In a press release, the BAI raised several objections to the proposed changes, highlighting that the draft introduces a new definition of beer that limits the addition of sugar to 25 percent and requires beer products to clearly label the content of malt and sugar.
"The draft notification also proposes to increase the excise duty on strong beer by 100 percent to Rs 20 per bulk litre, increasing the minimum billing price for beer in the state to Rs 300 per case and increases additional excise duty to 195 percent of the billing price or Rs 130 per bulk litre whichever is higher," the release read.
"The increase proposed in the draft notification would increase the prices by 10-20 percent in mainstream and premium segments. At the same time, it would also make beer unaffordable to the masses with the proposed 35 percent increase in taxes in this segment," said BAI, whose members account for 85 percent of the beer sold in India.
Vinod Giri, director general of the BAI, emphasised that beer contains no sugar and that the existing definition established by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is already comprehensive and followed by all states. He questioned the necessity for Karnataka to impose its own definition.
Giri also noted that the proposed tax increases would affect consumers significantly, noting that the price of strong beer, which makes up 90 percent of beer sold in Karnataka, will increase by Rs 10-15 per bottle, making it one of the most expensive in the country. This change would increase the minimum price of beer from Rs 95 to Rs 140 per bottle.
"Due to the impact on MRP, we estimate the tax revenues from the beer category may actually fall to the tune of Rs 400 crore revenue from this proposal," said BAI.
Highlighting that Karnataka is the third largest beer market in India, the BAI stated that they are concerned that some proposed changes could hinder the growth of the industry, diminish the state's investment appeal, or drive future investments elsewhere.
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RR beat RCB by six wickets in IPL
Guwahati (PTI): Blistering fifties by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Dhruv Jurel powered Rajasthan Royals to a six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their IPL match here on Friday.
Sent in to bat, RCB rode on a fighting half-century by skipper Rajat Patidar (63) to post 201 for 8.
Virat Kohli (32), Romario Shepherd (22) and Venkatesh Iyer (29) also chipped in with useful contributions.
In reply, Sooryavanshi (78 off 26 balls) and Dhruv Jurel (81 not out off 43 balls) shared a 37-ball 108-run partnership for the second wicket to set the platform. Krunal Pandya (2/30) tried to bring them back with back-to-back wickets.
But Jurel, in the company of Ravindra Jadeja (24), completed the task with another 68-run stand, with two overs to spare.
For RR, Jofra Archer (2/33), Ravi Bishnoi (2/32) and Brijesh Sharma (2/37) took two wickets.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 201 for 8 in 20 overs (Rajat Patidar 63; Jofra Archer 2/33, Ravi Bishnoi 2/32, Brijesh Sharma 2/37).
Rajasthan Royals: 202 for 4 in 18 overs (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 78, Dhruv Jurel 80 not out; Krunal Pandya 2/30, Josh Hazlewood 2/44).
