Thiruvananthapuram:A high-level Punjab Government team, led by Finance and Excise Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, visited Kerala to study the government-run Beverages Corporation's liquor business in the southern state.
Taxes on alcohol is one of the major source of revenue for Kerala government. Cheema had met Kerala Excise and Local Government Minister M B Rajesh on Wednesday, and his team had visited the Kerala State Beverages Corporation Limited (BEVCO) headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, a retail outlet in Karikakam in the city, and the warehouse at Meenamkulam nearby Kazhakuttam.
The officials, led by Punjab Finance Commissioner Vikas Prathap and Excise Commissioner Varun Roojam, held discussions with the officials of the Kerala Excise Department and Kerala State Beverages Corporation Limited. Harpal Singh Cheema, however, stayed away from these visits. The Punjab officials said that they were in Kerala to study the best practices. "We are here to study the best practises, and we are learning them," Prathap told PTI.