Karnataka Budget 2023: Liquor to get expensive as excise duty hiked by 20%

People in Karnataka will now have to shell out more to buy alcohol as the state government on Friday proposed to hike additional excise duty in the 2023-24 budget presented by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Siddaramaiah, who holds the Finance portfolio, proposed to increase the existing rates of the duty on Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) by 20 per cent on all 18 slabs.

He also proposed to increase the duty on beer from 175 per cent to 185 per cent.

"Even after the increase in excise rates, the price of liquor in our state would be lower when compared to the neighbouring states," the Chief Minister said in the budget speech.

With these hikes and effective enforcement and regulatory measures, the revenue collection target for the Excise Department for the year 2023-24 is fixed at Rs 36,000 crore, Siddaramaiah added.