Booze to cost 15% more in Haryana from April 1

Booze lovers raise toast to IMFL, more flexibility for contractors to choose liquor variety, vend location

Liquor prices in Haryana are expected to shoot up nearly by 15% with the hike in VAT, excise duty and licence fee under the new state excise policy for the next fiscal which was announced here on Sunday.

The increase in levies, announced by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government ,will raise the prices of country liquor, Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL), foreign liquor and low alcohol content beverages.

Unveiling the new policy, excise and taxation minister Capt Abhimanyu, who is also the finance minister, said around 500 liquor shops will be shifted, following the Supreme Court’s order that no liquor shops will be permitted within 500 metres of national and state highways.

The state government has “rationalised” the rates of excise duty and VAT, he said.

The government is estimated to net ₹500-700 crore extra on account of these changes. The policy was announced after approval from chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

Liquor prices are all set to rise by roughly 15% in Haryana from April 1 as the state government has announced a hike in excise duty and value-added tax (VAT) on the sale of liquor.

The increase in levies, announced by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in its excise policy for 2017-18 on Sunday, will raise the prices of country liquor, Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL), foreign liquor and low alcohol content beverages.

Unveiling the new policy, excise and taxation minister Capt Abhimanyu, who is also the finance minister, said the state government has “rationalised” the rates of excise duty and VAT. “I will give details of additional revenue in my budget tomorrow,” he said. However, the government is estimated to net ₹500700 crore extra on account of these changes.

The policy was announced after approval from CM Manohar Lal Khattar.

VAT AND EXCISE DUTY INCREASED

The excise duty on country liquor (CL) has been raised from the existing ₹20 per proof litre to ₹28. In the IMFL category, the duty ranged from ₹40 to ₹70 per proof litre with four slabs. The duty has been increased and three additional slabs have been created. The new rates of excise duty range from ₹45 to ₹200 per proof litre with seven slabs, depending upon the ex-distillery price. The rates of excise duty on beer and wine have also seen a substantial increase. Similarly, VAT rates have been revised from the existing 10% plus surcharge at the rate of 5%.

While the new rate of VAT for CL is 13% plus surcharge, it is 13.5% plus surcharge for beer and 14% plus surcharge for IMFL. In case of foreign liquor, the VAT rate has been hiked from 25% plus surcharge to 33% plus surcharge. There is no change in the rate of surcharge.

The minimum retail prices (MRPs) of country liquor, IMFL and low alcohol content beverages have also been increased.

The MRP of brands such as Royal Stag and McDowell No 1 has been increased to ₹450 from ₹380 for a quart (760 ml bottle), regular brands such as Signature Whisky and Blenders Pride to ₹600 from ₹500 and quart (760 ML), deluxe brands such as Antiquity Blue and McDowell’s Single Malt to ₹850 from ₹750 and premium brands such as Black Dog 8 Years and Teachers to ₹1,500 from ₹1,300. Similarly, beer prices will also go up from next month.

In addition, the annual license fee of bars has been increased from ₹12.5 lakh to ₹15 lakh in Gurugram, ₹10 lakh to ₹12 lakh in Faridabad and ₹7.5 lakh to ₹9 lakh in other districts of the state. Haryana garners a third of its excise collections from Gurugram and Faridabad.

DEFENCE PERSONNEL TO SHELL OUT MORE

Retired and serving personnel of armed forces will also have to pay more for liquor as the state government has increased the excise duty on supply through canteen stores department (CSD). The duty on rum has been doubled to ₹85 per proof litre, IMFL to ₹235 from ₹90 per proof litre and beer to ₹44 per bulk litre from ₹15 per bulk litre. The minister said that despite the upward revision in duty rates, the rates of liquor supplied through CSD would continue to be much lower than those in neighbouring Punjab.

Capt Abhimanyu said the Supreme Court order on ban on liquor shops within 500 metres of national and state highways would lead to dislocation of roughly 500 retail vends in the state.

Welcoming the apex court’s decision, he said the bars and pubs would continue to function and the directions of the Supreme Court do not apply to them as per the advice of the attorney general and advocate general.

There has been no change in liquor quota and the number of retail outlets of CL and IMFL. The number of outlets have been retained at a maximum of 3,500.

CONTRACTORS TO GET MORE FLEXIBILITY

The new policy allows flexibility to vendors to decide location and the allotment will be made on the basis of zones in a shift from allotment on the basis of group of vends in the previous year.

“The zones will comprise of six retail vends wherein the allottee will have a freedom and flexibility to locate his vend within his zone subject to legal provisions and directions of the apex court,” the minister said.

The vendors will have the flexibility to either sell CL or IMFL, or both at any of their vends in the zone due to growing demand for IMFL.

“The demand for IMFL is growing due to rising buying power and changing taste of liquor consumers,” he said. To plug the menace of bootlegging, two sub-vends per zone have also been permitted in the urban area for the first time against a fixed fee of ₹10 lakh per sub-vend.