Mysuru-based Huli Brewery is considering moving operations out of Karnataka following the state government’s decision to hike annual distillery licence fees by 50%. The brewery says it is looking at shifting to Goa or Maharashtra, claiming the hike makes it unviable to operate in Karnataka.

“This is literally forcing us out. Is this the Congress-led government’s idea of ease of doing business?” the company’s co-founder and director, Aruna Urs wrote on X.

Urs claimed that a neighbouring state’s Chief Minister’s office reached out via X, offering to tweak excise policies to suit them if they move. “Meanwhile, we now operate in our CM’s constituency and half of our team are his voters!” he wrote.

The state government issued the notification the day before yesterday, raising licence fees for all categories, from manufacturers to retailers, by 50 per cent, said Urs.

“In May, they proposed a 100 per cent hike in a draft notification. After several industry stakeholders, including us, met the concerned officials and the Chief Minister, the government reduced it to 50 per cent, but applied it uniformly across all categories,” he said.

“They’ve treated everyone the same, big or small. This will hurt small businesses like us, especially when consumer spending is already down due to high inflation and rising living costs,” he added.

He alleged that the government is focusing only on raising money to fund its welfare schemes, ignoring business growth. “The liquor industry is seen as a cash cow. The economy isn’t growing, incomes have stagnated, jobs aren’t being created, and this hike only adds to the burden,” Urs added.

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