Liquor cheaper in Delhi as govt removes 70% coronavirus fee

NEWDELHI: The Delhi government from June 10 will withdraw the special 70% coronavirus fees that it has been levying on the maximum retail price of liquor, a senior government official said.

The decision was taken in a cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday. The cabinet note, which HT has seen, further said, value added tax (VAT) on liquor will be increased from 20% to 25%.

VAT is applicable on all Indian manufactured foreign liquor and country liquor. Prices of imported liquor – on which several other duty fees are levied – are likely to witness no change in MRP after June 10.

The special ‘coronavirus fee’ was imposed by the Delhi excise department on May 3, the day government liquor shops in the city — which are not located in markets and shopping malls — were allowed to open after around six weeks of lockdown. Around 100 shops that were allowed to open witnessed massive crowds and rampant violation of lockdown norms.

Between May 18 and 22, more shops, including those in markets and those owned by private enterprises, were allowed to open, but on alternate days based on the shop numbers.

Between May 4 and June 3, excise department records showed, the Delhi government had earned around ₹200 crore through the special coronavirus fee on liquor.

From June 1, around 700 liquor shops in the city out of 864 have been allowed to function all days a week. Vinod Giri, director general, Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies said, “We had repeatedly pointed out that such steep increase will turn to be counter-productive as it would lead to fall in liquor sales.”