Beer makers urge Karnataka govt to withdraw draft, fear 10-20% price hike

The Beer Association of India (BAI) has urged the Karnataka government to withdraw draft notifications, which proposed a hike in duty through alcohol content-based classification in beer, saying that on average this move would lead to a price increase of 10-20 per cent in mainstream and premium segments.The draft notification proposes to double the excise duty on strong beer to Rs 20 per bulk litre, increase the minimum billing price for beer in the state to Rs 300 per case and Additional Excise Duty (AED) to 195 per cent of the billing price or Rs 130 per bulk litre whichever is higher.The industry body, in a letter to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, has also asked to withdraw the proposal asking beer manufacturers to declare the sugar content in the beer on the bottle's label and capping the use of sugar to 25 per cent of the weight of malt of grain.BAI, which represents leading beer makers United Breweries, ABInBev and Carlsberg, said these draft notifications are not in the ...