Page 6 - Liquor Firms

United Spirits profit climbs on premium liquor demand in third quarter

A greater number of affluent Indians are choosing more expensive cars and consuming pricier food and liquor, unaffected by inflation

Trademark infringement: SC directs 'London Pride' to consider new packaging

The Supreme Court on Monday directed a Madhya Pradesh-based company which manufactures and sells whisky under the trade mark 'London Pride' to inform if it was willing to change the trade dress and colour of its product as they were similar to liquor major Pernod Ricard India Pvt Ltd's 'Blenders Pride' and 'Imperial Blue' whisky. A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud asked senior advocate S Muralidhar, appearing for brand 'London Pride', to seek instructions and inform it about the company's response by the next date of hearing. "Why have you ('London Pride') adopted the same trade dress and colour and all? Get instructions on whether you will change the trade dress and colour (visual appearance of a product)," the bench, also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said. The apex court said it will hear arguments on the issue of trademark dispute on names at the next hearing. The legal battle over the alleged infringement of trademark of the whisky brands ...

AB InBev keen to invest Rs 400 cr for expanding brewery ops in Karnataka

The world's largest brewer AB InBev has evinced keenness for a Rs 400 crore investment to enhance and expand its brewery operations in Karnataka, according to the State's Large and Medium Industries Minister M B Patil. A Karnataka delegation led by Patil held discussions with executives of AB InBev on Wednesday at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, the Minister's office said in a statement. The company has a state-of-the-art brewery in Mysuru and a Global Capability Centre here. Meanwhile, HP Enterprise which currently employs 8,000 individuals in Karnataka out of its 15,000-strong workforce across India stated that the two new state-of-the-art buildings at Mahadevpura here would be unveiled soon. "This location is set to become the largest concentration of HP facilities globally, nearly double the size of its next biggest site, the statement said.

Ram Temple consecration: Liquor shops to remain shut in U'khand on Jan 22

The Uttarakhand government has announced that liquor shops across the state will be closed on January 22, to mark the "Pran Pratishtha" ceremony of Ram Temple in Ayodhya

Liquor stocks raise a toast to premiumisation trends, margin gains

Already outperformers in FY24, leading listed players may witness further uptick, say analysts

Liquor permits on health ground in Gujarat go up by 58% in 3 years

The number of people holding liquor permits on health ground in Gujarat has gone up by 58 per cent in three years, as per figures of the state prohibition and excise department. As against 27,452 liquor permit holders in November 2020, Gujarat now has 43,470 permit holders, according to the data. Being the state in which Mahatma Gandhi was born, the manufacture, storage, sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages have been banned in Gujarat since its formation. The state's population is estimated to be around 6.7 crore. A senior official from the prohibition department said apart from the people who have been given permits on health ground, foreign nationals and people from other states are given the permit for a maximum period of one week during their visit to Gujarat. The data revealed that Ahmedabad district was on top of the list with 13,456 liquor permits, followed by Surat (9,238), Rajkot (4,502), Vadodara (2,743), Jamnagar (2,039), Gandhinagar (1,851) and Porbandar (1,700)

India looks for greater mkt access for alcoholic beverages in FTA: Official

India looks for greater market access on a reciprocal basis for its alcoholic beverages while negotiating free trade agreements (FTAs), a senior government official said on Thursday. Additional Secretary in the Commerce Ministry, Rajesh Agrawal, said that demand for Indian spirits is growing in the world. "On the market access point of view, it is on a reciprocal basis. If we are opening up our market in any way...we also try to look for market access in other countries," he told reporters here. The remarks assume significance as India is negotiating a free trade agreement with the UK and the European Union (EU). Cutting customs duties in the sector is one of the key demands of these countries. "This is one of the areas (where) we are trying to negotiate upon and...we are trying to see that the duty concessions that are required in various destinations, we get (that)," he said. He added that the condition that for a product to qualify as a whisky, it must be matured for a period n

Alcoholic beverages exports to cross $1 bn in next few years: Report

The country's alcoholic beverages exports are expected to cross USD 1 billion in the next few years on account of increasing demand for spirits in global markets, a senior government official said on Thursday. As against the exports of USD 325 million in 2022-23, the outbound shipments from the sector touched USD 230 million during April-October this fiscal, Additional Secretary in the commerce ministry Rajesh Agrawal told reporters here. The global trade of these products is about USD 130 billion. "The demand for Indian spirits is increasing...It is expected to go beyond USD 1 billion in the next few years. Indian beverages market is growing very fast and slowly demand for these brands across the world is also picking up," Agrawal said, adding that in the forthcoming three-day Indus Food show in Greater Noida (Uttar Pradesh), there will be a wine and spirits section. Over 2,500 global buyers, 5,000 domestic buyers and 86 retail chains would be participating in the show apart from

Indian alcohol cos seek elimination of 'non-tariff barriers' in EU markets

For a beverage to be considered "whisky" in the EU, it has to be at least three years or more old. For "brandy", this time is one year

Liquor maker Pernod Ricard India rakes in Rs 25,000 crore revenue in FY23

Spirits maker Pernod Ricard India has posted a revenue of over Rs 25,000 for 2022-23, registering a 10 per cent growth on an annual basis. The company, which owns popular brands such as Absolut, Chivas Regal, and Glenlivet, however, saw an 8 per cent decline in profit to Rs 1,340.22 crore in FY23. It had posted a profit of Rs 1,457.98 crore in FY22. The company's consolidated revenue from operations in FY23 was Rs 25,039.47 crore, 10.1 per cent higher than Rs 22,741.40 crore a year ago, according to financial data accessed by business intelligence platform Tofler. Pernod Ricard India has paid a total excise duty of Rs 13,112.61 crore in FY23, almost 2 per cent higher than Rs 12,857.74 crore a year earlier, as per the data. The total tax deposited by Pernod Ricard during 2022-23, was at Rs 19,002 crore, which is 76 per cent (approx) of its revenue from operations towards taxes & duties (direct & indirect) to the Centre and state governments, it said. Pernod Ricard India's total

Pernod Ricard aims threefold jump in sales in Indian market by next decade

French Spirits maker Pernod Ricard expects a threefold jump in its sales in the Indian market by next decade, led by macroeconomic tailwinds, favourable demographic dividend and growing premiumisation in IMFL and imported brands here. According to Pernod Ricard India MD Jean Touboul, the Indian market, currently ranked at number two globally, has the potential to become a leader in the next 10-15 years, replacing the US market, for the company. "We are growing faster with the tailwinds in macroeconomics, in demographic and well India being the most populous country on earth, I am personally convinced that yes, we will be the market number one in Pernod Ricard at some point," Touboul told PTI. However, he also added: "I just cannot tell you if it will be in 10 years, 15 years, that is not easy to predict but my conviction is that yes, one day India will be the market number one for Pernod Ricard." Pernod Ricard is having a double-digit growth both for IMFL and strong double-digit ..

SC grants bail to executive of liquor firm in Delhi excise policy case

The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to liquor giant Pernod Ricard's executive Benoy Babu in a money laundering case arising out of the Delhi excise policy scam. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and SVN Bhatti noted that the accused has been in custody for more than 13 months and the trial against him has still not commenced in the case. The bench also noted that there were contradictions in the case probed by the CBI and the ED with regard to Babu. "You can't keep people behind bars before trial for long. This is not proper. We still don't know how this will go. There seems to be some contradiction between what the CBI is alleging and the ED is alleging in the case," the bench told Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the Enforcement Directorate (ED). At the outset, senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for Babu, said it is a completely 'bogus case' against his client which is being probed by the ED. "As per the ED's case, Babu met Vijay Nair (Aam Aadmi Part

Alcohol association welcomes Manipur's move to lift prohibition on liquor

Seeks similar action from Bihar government to help end hooch tragedies and help state earn Rs 10,000 cr

Chhattisgarh polls: Major issue in 2018, liquor ban a non-starter this time

In 2022-23, the state government collected Rs 6,700 crore in revenue from liquor, surpassing the target by Rs 100 crore

DeVANS Modern Breweries enters into production tie-up with Vairagi in UP

DeVANS Modern Breweries has entered into a production tie-up with Vairagi Brewery in UP's Barabanki, further enhancing its production capacity by 24,000 KL, amounting to 2 million cases per year, company officials said. The production tie-up comes barely a year after the company significantly boosted its production capacity through production tie-ups in Arunachal Pradesh and Jharkhand. "Uttar Pradesh is a huge beer market and DeVANS was finding it increasingly difficult to feed the market to its full potential due to capacity constraints. The Vairagi production tie up would go a long way in helping us in meeting the demand for our beers in the State," Prem Dewan, Chairman and Managing Director, DeVANS Modern Breweries Ltd, said. He said that the production partnership would also help the company avoid additional costs of import duties and freight and also enhance our overall production capacity to 1,80,600 KL. The manufacturer of iconic beer brands like Godfather, Six Fields and ..

GST Council likely to exempt distilled alcohol used to make liquor from tax

However, states adopt different practices while imposing GST on extra neutral alcohol, which is key input used to produce liquor

Dry day today on Gandhi Jayanti: All you need to know about dry days

Dry day refers to the prohibition on the sale of alcohol. Since the sale of liquor is a state subject, the laws around prohibition differ across the country

Delhi govt sold over 610 mln liquor bottles, earned Rs 7,285 cr last year

Under its current excise policy, the Delhi government earned more than Rs 7,285 crore in the last year by selling over 61 crore liquor bottles, officials said on Saturday. The excise policy (old) currently under operation since September 1, 2022, was brought by the Delhi government after its ambitious new excise policy for 2021-22 came under the CBI scanner for alleged irregularities in its implementation. The total excise revenue collection from September 1, 2022, to August 31, 2023, was Rs 7,285.15 crore, including Rs 2,013.44 crore collected as value-added tax (VAT), said an Excise Department officer. In comparison, the revenue collection from the new excise policy was Rs 5,487.58 crore in 2021-22. The new excise policy, under which private parties were involved in retail liquor sales, was withdrawn by the Delhi government last year after LG VK Saxena recommended a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in its implementation, officials said. The then deputy CM and Excise Minister

Pernod Ricard eyes premium spirit market in India with local brands

The second-largest distiller in the world has already produced an Indian single malt and may be expanding its portfolio in light of growing demand

Court declines to entertain Pernod appeal to renew liquor sale licence

India's federal financial crime agency has accused the company of illegally making profits by giving false information to Delhi