In huge cheer for the cash-strapped stategovernment, the excise department has collected Rs 9,572 crore in revenue which translates to about 38% of the annual target for the 2021-22 fiscal in less than five months.
While this has not only come as a godsend for the government, since revenue from most other heads are yet to gain steam, but also is an indicator that the economy is on the mend. However, sources say they are still reeling under restrictions and government revenue cannot be an indicator of the Health of the sector.
As per data shared by the department, while the state recorded a revenue of Rs 7,227.4 crore in the previous year for the same period (April-August), this year the numbers suggest that there has been a spike of 32%. In the previous fiscal (2020-21), excise revenues had seen a serious drop due to the nationwide lockdown and restrictions thereafter on account of Covid-19.
As expected, there has been an increase in sales of Indian manufactured liquor (IML) with close to 247 lakh case boxes (cbs). This accounts for roughly 42% of the entire sales of IML in 2020-21 in just under five months.