The income-tax raid on the Odisha-based Boudh Distillery Private Limited (BDPL) has so far unearthed Rs 400 crore in cash and shed light on how the liquor trade is a major revenue source for the Odisha government, said sources.
After the mining cess, Odisha heavily relies on the revenue generated from the liquor. Its revenue on this count has gone up from a meagre Rs 135 crore to nearly Rs 7,000 crore in the past 22-23 years.
According to the excise data, the state’s revenue skyrocketed from Rs 135.35 crore in 2001-02 to an impressive Rs 6,455.06 crore in 2022-23. Its revenue from the excise has gone up by more than 47 times. For the financial year 2023-24, the state has set an ambitious target of Rs 7,800 crore from the excise — more than 99 per cent of it will come from liquor sales only.
While country liquor, mostly made from mahua flower, spirit and rice grains, was plentily available in tribal and rural pockets, the IMFL is in free flow in urban and suburban areas.
