PANJIM: A month after a vote on account on the Budget, the coalition government led by Manohar Parrikar has hiked excise duty on liquor and almost doubled the casino fees.
With the summer vacation days away, domestic tourists are likely to feel the pinch as prices of liquor as well as casinos gets dearer.
As per the gazette notification, the government has hiked excise duty on all categories of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), which includes beer and wines. The government has also reviewed the tariffs for the liquor trade which includes retail/wholesale licence fees, bars and restaurants etc.
The hardest to be hit by the hikes will be the bar and retail outlets, while processing fees for new applications has also been increased.
While the increase in licence fees for distillers and breweries is by about Rs 1 lakh, depending on the category, the hike in the bar licence fee is by about 20 per cent.
Excise duty for IMFL has been fixed from Rs 25 to Rs 2000 depending on the sale price. The minimum excise duty for IMFL, which does not exceed Rs 100 and whose strength is below 80 UP, has been fixed at Rs 25 while for costlier IMFL whose price goes beyond Rs 10,500 it has been fixed at Rs 2,000.
For beer manufactured locally or imported from outside the State, the excise duty is fixed at Rs 22 per bulk litre and goes up to Rs 40 per bulk litre.
Liquor manufacturers will also have to bear a sharp increase in annual licence fees with the new fee for distilleries ranging between Rs two lakh and Rs four lakh. The licence fee for brewery units manufacturing beer starts at Rs four lakh and goes up to Rs 20 lakh for a large brewery, manufacturing more than 30 lakh cases a year.
Casino fees hiked: The government has also hiked the casino annual recurring fee with effect from April 1, 2018.
As per the order issued by Under Secretary Home Neetal Amonkar, land casinos with an area up to 100 sq metres will now pay an annual fee of Rs 10 cr. Similarly, land casinos with an area above 100 sq meters and below 300 sq meters will pay Rs 20 cr, casinos with area between 300 to 500 sq mt area will pay Rs 25 cr, those with area from 500 sq mt to 750 sq mt area has been increased to Rs 32 cr and casinos with area over 750 to 1000 sq mt area will pay annual fee of Rs 36 cr.
The order further states that the offshore casino vessels with passenger capacity of up to 200 will have to pay Rs 25 cr, that with capacity of 200-400 passengers will pay Rs 30 cr and those above 400 passenger capacity will pay Rs 40 cr.
Lincencees have been asked to pay the above fees within 30 days of the notification.
Finance Secretary Daulat Hawaldar said that there were no proposals in the Budget but tax can be levied throughout the year. “There were no proposals in annual statement but we can levy tax anytime there is no such requirement that it has to be approved only in the Assembly,” he said.
With mining revenue once again going to dry up after the Supreme Court ban the State is looking for other ways and means to generate revenue. Sources revealed that in the coming days the government will plan out strategy to get additional revenue.
