Introducing the Most Comprehensive Liquor Tax Label in India

The liquor industry in India is a major source of excise revenue that needs protecting against non-compliance and illicit trade. To this end, two decades ago, the Indian state of Kerala introduced hologramembedded security tax labels on Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL).

The original Kerala liquor stamps

The labels are produced by the Centre for Development of Imaging Technology (C-DIT), an autonomous R&D, production and training centre for imaging technology, established under the government of Kerala. The centre provides IT applications and holography-based security products to the state, including holographic liquor stamps. Indeed, it is the only security hologram production facility in India to fall within the public sector.

Since their introduction, the labels have not only helped minimise cases of hooch (moonshine) poisoning, but have substantially increased excise revenue collection in the state.

The original labels, designed in 2001, made full use of the advanced technology available at the time. Even today, they are functioning well and there have been no reported incidents of a lapse in performance of the labels’ security features.