The decision on selling low-alcohol beverages in Kerala will be based solely on the liquor policy, which is yet to be prepared, Excise Minister M. Liju has said. Addressing a press conference here on Friday (June 26, 2026), he said that the Budget proposal for tax cuts on low-alcohol beverages was considering this future possibility, and not a decision to be implemented immediately.

“The final word regarding the sales of liquor in Kerala will be the liquor policy. As per the information available to me, only after the UDF government comes out with a comprehensive liquor policy will a final decision on the sales of low-alcohol beverages be taken. The Chief Minister has clearly stated his stance that the tax cuts are not for immediate sales, but that these will be the slabs when the sales happen in the future after the liquor policy comes into force,” said Mr. Liju.

He said that before the sales of low-alcohol beverages can take place, the brand registration application has to go through the Excise Commissioner. “As the Excise Minister, my stand right now is that such applications should be rejected. However, if the required changes are made in the liquor policy, then it can be allowed,” he said.

Mr. Liju said that the idea of low-alcohol beverages was first introduced by the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government through the liquor policy of 2022, following which the Abkari Rules were amended as per a government order in 2023.

To a question on whether he was unaware of the tax cut proposal in the Budget, he said that it is usually not a practice for Finance Ministers to discuss the tax proposals with the respective Ministers.

Halt in production

Regarding the halt in production of the popular ‘Jawan’ liquor at the Travancore Sugars and Chemicals Limited (TSCL), the Minister said that steps have been taken to restart production. Directions have been issued to calculate the losses due to the stoppage of production and to initiate action against those responsible.

“The production of 750-ml Jawan liquor was halted during the tenure of the previous government. Later, the 1000-ml production also was halted due to shortage of stickers and carton boxes. The production of 1000-ml Jawan was restarted yesterday,” he said.