THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Excise Minister T P Ramakrishnan said the price of liquor will have to be increased in the state. The minister said the proposal obtained has stated to increase the base price by seven per cent. The final decision in this regard will be taken by the beverages corporation. Talking to the media, the minister said the new move comes at a time when the prices of raw materials are high.

The decision of BEVCO on liquor prices is likely to be accepted soon. BEVCO director board which met yesterday decided to increase the base price by seven per cent. The final decision is left to the government as it is a matter of policy. When the proportional tax increase is taken into account, the increase will be at least Rs 100 per litre and this too has to be borne by the customer. With the proportional increase in taxes, the price of liquor is likely to go up by at least Rs 100 per litre. The beverages corporation settles the purchase agreement based on the price of extra neutral alcohol used to produce the liquor.

BEVCO is still getting liquor as per the tender confirmed when the price of spirit was Rs 35 per litre. However, the price of liquor bought from companies has not gone up even though the price of spirit is Rs 60 per litre. Though steps were taken twice to renew the tender last year in wake of repeated requests from suppliers, it had to be postponed due to COVID. In the meanwhile, the excise duty on alcohol was raised by 35 per cent in view of the loss of revenue during COVID period.