Karnataka has “no plans” to start online sale and door-delivery of liquor during the pandemic even as several states across the country have resorted to it to boost sales.
The state government had mulled allowing online sale of liquor, but this won’t be done for now, Excise Minister K Gopalaiah told DH.
While former Excise minister H Nagesh had mooted the idea last year, it was not taken forward. As of now, the government is not considering it, Gopalaiah said.
After the Covid first wave in 2020, a few states in the country had begun online sale of liquor. The state Excise department had mulled the idea at that time. West Bengal, Odisha, Kerala, Punjab, Delhi are among the states where online sales are permitted.
Speaking to DH, officials in the Excise department said they had studied the online liquor sales model in Maharashtra and West Bengal and did not find it feasible.
If at all someone has to go for online delivery, a proper system should be in place. Especially because there are children at home. The government cannot implement it without taking these factors into consideration, the official added.
The Karnataka High Court, too, had recently dismissed the appeal of a private company seeking permission for online sale of liquor.
According to data available with the Excise department, the government saw merely Rs 1.06 crore revenue in April last year compared to Rs 2,205 crore this year. In May, the government was able to generate a revenue of Rs 1,445 crore compared to Rs 1,403 crore for the same period last year.
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