Come April, liquor for armed forces in Hry to become dearer

Comparatively cheap liquor in Chandigarh may divert defence clientele from neighbouring areas

CHANDIGARH: Armed forces personnel in Haryana will have to shell out more for their drink with the state government deciding to hike the excise duty for liquor sold through the canteen stores department (CSD) from April 1.

As per the 2020-21 excise policy approved by the council of ministers on Thursday, the excise levies for liquor sold to armed forces personnel will increase in the range of 5% to 36% for different kinds of alcoholic drinks.

The excise duty for rum, arguably the most popular drink among defence personnel, has been hiked by around 36%. The levy on rum in 2019-20 excise policy was reduced by around 48%.

The tax in form of assessment fee on imported foreign liquor (IFL, bottled in origin) has been increased by around 15%.

Low alcohol content beverages such as beer and wine will also get costlier for armed forces personnel from the next fiscal as the excise levy on them has been increased by 11-12.5%. Similarly, ready to drink beverages will also get expensive due to a 10% hike in excise duty.The excise duty for Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) has been increased by around 5%.

Since the excise duty levied by the Chandigarh administration for CSD liquor is way low, the comparatively cheap liquor may attract a lot of defence clientele from neighbouring Haryana. The

CSD liquor in Punjab, however, is costlier than Haryana.

NEW RETAIL LICENSE INTRODUCED

The state government has introduced a new retail license for the sale of imported foreign liquor (bottled in origin) called L-2BF. The new license, available for retail outlets of IMFL and bar licensees, will be granted on a fixed fee.

The license, in the form of L-2BF, shall be granted mandatorily to certain earmarked retail outlets of IMFL at a fixed price, which will be determined in accordance with the potential of the vends. The license fee of such retail outlets of IMFL shall be displayed in the excise arrangement separately and will be over and above the tender amount of a vend. Each such L-2BF shall be granted a minimum quota of IFL (bottled in origin) in terms of cases of whisky, beer and wine.

THE EXCISE DUTY FOR RUM, ARGUABLY THE MOST POPULAR DRINK AMONG DEFENCE PERSONNEL, HAS BEEN HIKED BY AROUND 36%.