Karnataka Excise Act, 1965

The appellants, liquor manufacturers, challenged Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh excise rules that required them to sell liquor only to a state‑owned distributor (MSIL) and imposed a steep increase in label‑approval fees. They argued that the rules violated their fundamental right to carry on trade under Article 19(1)(g),…

The appellants, manufacturers of liquor, challenged Karnataka's 1989 amendment that appointed Mysore Sales International Ltd (MSIL) as the sole distributor of liquor, arguing that the interim stay order of 20 November 1989, which required payment of compensation to MSIL if the appeals were dismissed, should not bind th…

The Karnataka government invited applications for bottling arrack and, after receiving 131 applications, the Excise Commissioner recommended eight contractors, many of whom were not eligible under the Karnataka Excise (Bottling of Liquor) Rules. The State awarded the contracts despite the rules restricting licences to …

Mysore Sales International Ltd., a Karnataka government undertaking that manufactures and bottles arrack, was directed by the Income Tax Deputy Commissioner to collect TDS from liquor vendors (excise contractors) under Section 206C of the Income Tax Act, treating the vendors as "buyers". The vendors obtained retail ven…

The respondent, Mis Distillers Co. Ltd., a licensed arrack bottler under the Karnataka Excise Act, paid additional amounts to the Excise Department for bottling unmatured arrack and for non‑affixation of labels after failing to comply with a circular prescribing a 15‑day maturation period. It claimed these payments as …