Until recently, the beverages market was divided simply between alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. As consumers tastes grew more sophisticated and demand surged for a variety of beverage options catering to lifestyle changes and health concerns, the beverages industry has responded with a dizzying array of options to choose from. This report focuses on the U.S. and world markets for beverages across several broad categories. For the purposes of this study, This Publications has divided the global beverages markets into the following product segments include: 1) alcoholic beverages such as wines, beers and spirits 2) non-alcoholic beverages such as bottled water and milk 3) brewed beverages such as coffees and teas 4) carbonated beverages such as sodas and soft drinks 5) non-carbonated juice products both fresh and pre-packaged 6) energy drinks which are generally caffeinated beverages in both carbonated and non-carbonated forms. For each market segment, this study presents the latest information on size, growth rates, sales ... [more..]

Major advantage of herbal beverages is that they rarely do any harm to the body. Unlike flavoured sodas which are loaded with calories and synthetic colour; herbal beverages have healing properties to them. One of the most admired herbal beverages is the green tea. Green tea is popular because of its antioxidant properties which are clinically proven to postpone aging and fight cancer. Green tea is recommended for diabetic patients too. It has a unique aroma and is very refreshing after a long day at work. Range of herbal tea has hit the market. Blended with herbs, seed, roots and dried flowers like basil, ginger, camomile and so on, herbal tea is considered to have therapeutic benefits. Though these are on a little higher side when compared with conventional black tea, the money spent on them is worthwhile for healthy living. Amla juice is another herbal beverage that has ... [more..]

Drunken exemption to Alcoholic Beverages The article is written by: CA Pradeep Jain, Anjali Bihani, Neetu Sukhwani Visit us at www.capradeepjain.com As nothing was leviable under the Central Excise Act in respect of alcoholic beverages; the power in this respect being vested with State, government resorted to Finance Act, 1994 in order to compensate loss of revenue by somehow bringing it under the purview of taxable services. Better to have service tax in lieu of no excise revenue. A beginning step towards this was made by issuing Board Circular 249/1/2006 dated 27.10.2008 levy of service tax on production of alcoholic beverages on job work basis thereby clarifying that if the Contract Bottling Units CBUs undertook complete process of manufacture of alcoholic beverage under the ‘contract bottling arrangement’ as described above then such activity would not fall under the taxable service, namely the BAS. However, in case the activity undertaken by ... [more..]