New Excise Duty, Liquor Prices To Go Up In State.

GURGAON: Prices of scotch, Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) and beer will go up marginally in Haryana from April as the state government has decided to levy an additional excise duty on liquor. This decision is a part of the new excise policy, which was announced by the state government on Monday.

Pub licenses will be given in Gurgaon, Panchkula and Faridabad and all the licensed bars will be permitted to purchase draught beer in kegs from wholesale depots.

While the excise duty on beer would be increased from Rs18 to Rs20 per bottle, the duty on IMFL will see a marginal increase from Rs35 to Rs37 per litre. Scotch, however, will

become more expensive, with the excise duty increasing by Rs12 to Rs22 per litre, depending upon the price of the scotch.

Amrit Kiran Singh, chairman of International Spirits and Wines Association of India (ISWAI), said the increase in excise duty would not bother those who can afford to spend above Rs800 for a bottle of scotch. The real challenge, however, is to check the bootlegger business, he added.

A senior excise department official said by increasing the excise duty on liquor, the state expects to generate revenue of Rs 2,500 crore in the next financial year, as compared to the expected collection of Rs 2,250 crore in the current fiscal.

While the minimum retail sale price of liquor has been marginally increased and rationalised, the concessional rate of excise duty for Army canteens will remain unchanged, a government release said.

In its new excise policy, the state government has decided not to increase the quota of country liquor and IMFL. The total number of vends will be 3,500, of which 2,265 will be country liquor vends and 1,235 IMFL vends.

To improve transparency, CCTV cameras will be installed in all the distilleries and breweries of the state and the sampling process will be video recorded.

The allotment of vends, as per the policy, will be done by inviting sealed tenders for all the vends.

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com