Mumbai, Aug 26 (PTI) Despite allowing online sale and home delivery of liquor in Maharashtra during the COVID-19- enforced lockdown, the state has seen a revenue drop of more than Rs 1,900 crore between April and July compared to the same period last year, government data has revealed.

Figures shared by the state excise department revealed that sale of IMFL (Indian-made foreign liquor) has seen a drop of Rs 1,073.09 crore and that of beer a dip of Rs 900.34 crore (total revenue loss Rs 1973.43 crore) during the period under review.

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The nationwide lockdown announced on the night of March 24 to curb the spread of coronavirus necessitated closure of liquor shops.

However, in mid-May, the state government, as part of lockdown relaxations, allowed reopening of liquor shops and also online purchases, hoping the measure would help it earn some revenue at a time when economic activity had largely stalled.

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The state earned Rs 2,641.73 crore between April and July of 2019-20 fiscal from sale of IMFL as against Rs 1,568.63 crore during April-July in the current fiscal (liquor sale for April remained zero due to strict lockdown), according to the data.

This showed earning dropped by Rs 1,073.09 crore, or 40.62 per cent.

Similarly, earning from beer sale dropped to Rs 111.23 crore in the current fiscal (April-July) from Rs 1,011.56 crore between April and July of FY 2019-20, it said.

Here, the drop was of Rs 900.34 crore, which is 89 per cent.

Revenue earned from country liquor also followed the same downward trend. Earning of Rs 1,221.98 crore in April- July period of 2019-20 from country liquor dropped by Rs 539.70 crore, or 44.17 per cent, to Rs 682.27 crore in the same period of the current fiscal, the data showed.

With more and more shops reopening, the overall income of people is likely to go up. It will trickle down to liquor consumption as well and the excise department is expecting a steady rise in revenue (from liquor sale) in the coming months, said a senior official.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)