Karnataka: CM hikes excise duty, liquor prices to surge
The Karnataka government on Friday proposed to hike additional excise duty in the 2023-24 budget presented by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Assembly on Friday
Bengaluru: Liquor, including beer, is set to get dearer in Karnataka as the state government on Friday proposed to hike additional excise duty in the 2023-24 budget presented by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Assembly on Friday.

Siddaramaiah, who holds the Finance portfolio, proposed to increase the existing rates of the duty on Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) by 20% on all 18 slabs. He also proposed to increase the duty on beer from 175% to 185%.
“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.
Siddaramaiah emphasised that the increase along with stringent enforcement and regulatory actions, will achieve a revenue collection target for the Excise Department at ₹36,000 crore for the fiscal year 2023-24. Siddaramaiah expressed confidence in these measures contributing to the state’s financial goals.
The outgoing Bommai government, in its budget presented in February proposed its excise target at ₹35,000 crore.
Meanwhile, the Congress government also proposed to revise the guidance values of real estate properties in the state. “The guidance value of all immovable properties across the state was revised during 2018-19 and came into effect in January 2019. Due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the guidance value of immovable properties has not been revised to date,” Siddaramaiah said.
Several changes over time have caused anomalies in the guidance values of all immovable properties, he added. “To rectify these anomalies, the state government will revise the guidance values for all immovable properties across the state this year.”
The guidance value is the minimum value at which the sale of a property can be registered.
Additionally, a scientific and rational guidance value system for the stamps and registration department will be developed using the Geographic Information System (GIS) as a base, and guidance values will be assigned to properties adjoining all roads and streets.
“This system will make guidance value for each property available online for citizens to know the stamp duty for any property exactly. A pilot will be taken up in one district and then it will be rolled out for the entire state,” the chief minister added.
Siddaramaiah said that the revenue collection target for the stamps and registration department for the year 2023–24 is fixed at ₹25,000 crore.
