Beer makers can’t operate 3rd shift: K'taka Excise Dept

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: The State government has issued a directive to beer manufacturers to stop third shift operations, which fall between 10 pm and 6 am.

Earlier, permission had been accorded to United Breweries, which comes under Heineken, Belgian company AB InBev, Carlsberg and B9 Beverages which sells its product under the brand name Bira to operate the third shift in Mysuru district.

However, the Excise Department wrote a letter to the companies on Wednesday, stating that they could no longer accommodate them, citing scarcity of Excise officials and staff in Mysuru district.

People familiar with Excise policy believe that it is because far greater revenue is gathered by Indian Made Liquor (IML), which includes rum and whisky.

In the 2022-23 financial year, the Excise Department contributed Rs 29,920.37 crore. IML accounted for the lion’s share of this revenue at Rs 24,663 crore while the remaining Rs 4,460 crore came from beer sales.

However, the five guarantees or welfare schemes require a lot of resources and all departments have been asked to increase their revenue collection.

Moreover, the state Excise Department, which deals purely with liquor sales, is regarded as a cash cow.