THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It has been alleged that illicit profits are being generated from the outlets of the Beverages Corporation in the state. There have been widespread complaints that foreign-made brands are being charged more than Rs 1,000 per bottle than their MRP. It is learnt that there is a huge difference between the price recorded on the bottle and the bill paid to the customer by Bevco outlets.

A Thiruvananthapuram native, who became a victim of Bevco's profit mongering, is the latest one to come up with such a complaint. He bought liquor from the Johnnie Walker and Cragganmore brands from an outlet in Ulloor on August 8. Upon receiving the bill, he was shocked to notice the massive difference between the amount on the bill and the amount recorded on the product. Bevco charged Rs 5,700 for Johnnie Walker, which had an MRP of Rs 4,720. On the other hand, Craganmore, which had an MRP of Rs 4,790, was charged Rs 5780. The customer stated that he was charged an extra Rs 1970 by the Beverage Corporation. Both were imported by Bevco in 2019.

However, Bevco officials claimed that the Corporation had the government's permission to change the price following price revision, even though it was old stock. The Beverages Corporation added that an order had already been issued in this regard. It must be noted that as per the order issued by the Managing Director of the Beverages Corporation on 19-05-2020, the revised price must be recorded in the products. This order has been completely ignored by the Bevco outlets.