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Even as the ongoing tourism season hasn’t picked up to the extent expected, excise collections have gone up.
Reliable sources informed that the State collected Rs 43.89 crore from excise in the month of October 2018, which was 30.7% higher than Rs 33.58 crore collected in October 2017.
Since excise is levied on the manufacture of alcohol, growth in excise collections show that consumption of liquor is also growing.
During the season, tourists from all over the world travel to Goa, which leads to a spurt in alcohol sales leading to growth in excise collections.
However, this season, in particular, tourism industry has complained that lesser tourists have arrived in Goa comparatively. So what explains the growth in excise collections in October 2018?
A source, on condition of anonymity, said, “It’s true that tourism season has been slower than what people were expecting. But, lower-end domestic tourists are still coming to Goa in large numbers, which has resulted in growth in excise collections as well.”
Many low-income tourists come to Goa to consume alcohol, which is much cheaper here than in other states of India.
Interestingly, the State saw a dip of 7.5% in its excise collections in September 2018. The government collected Rs 28.53 crore from excise in September 2018, which was 7.5% lesser than Rs 30.84 crore collected in September 2017.
The source said, “Due to festival like Ganesh Chaturthi, some people must have stayed away from alcohol.”
