New excise policy from today; liquor prices to go up

LUCKNOW: Liquor could be costlier from Monday when the excise policy for 2020-21 begins, 10 days behind schedule.

The new liquor policy was to start from April 1 but got delayed due to lockdown and six week closure of liquor shops.

While some excise officials said the new liquor prices announced by the state government on April 6 would come into effect, new stock with revised prices was yet to reach them.

“We still have old rates printed in liquor bottles. Thus far we were stopped from increasing the price and told to wait. Now, let’s see what happens from tomorrow,” a liquor seller said.

The government is looking to mop up an additional revenue of ₹2350 crore from the increase in liquor prices.

For most of Sunday, excise officials were in their offices finalising fresh liquor selling arrangements as those sellers whose liquor licence expired on March 31 but were given seven days time to clear stock would now hand over the shop to new licencees.

“There are several renewal cases and all in all from Monday several new liquor sellers would arrive in the business,” an official said.

Asked if liquor prices would go up from Monday, the official said it was expected.

“The liquor labels with fresh prices have been printed and being put on new stock though there is suspense over the old stock which is already available with the shopkeepers,” an official said.

The state government had set an excise target of ₹31,600 crore for 2019-20 against which it earned ₹27,323 crore till March. The lockdown started end of March and the six week closure of liquor shops cost the state exchequer heavily. After commercial tax, excise contributes the most in terms of revenue to the state government, with liquor sale forming bulk of the revenue.

› We still have old rates printed in liquor bottles. Thus far we were stopped from increasing the price and told to wait. Now, let’s see what happens from tomorrow A LIQUOR SELLER