TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: Drinking alcohol in public places – a common site in Goa, especially in places frequented by tourists – could be a thing of the past. In a bid to update the antiquated 50-year-old excise duty rules, the State government has constituted a five-member committee headed by a retired excise officer to draft a new legislation for excise duty, with major focus on prohibition of drinking liquor in public places.
Deliberations may also take place on inter-state transport of liquor.
The committee has to submit its report within three months to the Commissioner of Excise, who will then forward it to the Government within one month for approval.
Under Secretary (Finance) Ajit Pawaskar through an order has constituted a committee under chairmanship of former Commissioner of Excise Ashok Dessai to draft a new legislation for streamlining excise duty, keeping the unique features as contained in Excise Duty Act,1964, as well as unique selling proposition of State of Goa so as not to dilute features vis-à-vis other states.
The committee member includes former Superintendents of Excise Caetano Fernandes, Sita Rodrigues and Babaji Mangaonkar and assistant commissioner of excise Satyawan Bhivshet.
The committee has to re-examine the entire Excise Duty Act and Rules, amendments, and also take into consideration new excise products coupled with new methods of distillation and brewing, as also evasion.
Sources said that this follows an announcement by Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar. The new legislation would be drafted with focus on prohibiting drinking in public places, including the state’s streets. The committee might also look into whether it is possible to include more States in the list of those that permit import of alcohol for consumption.
Currently, the State excise department issues Rs 10 permit for transporting liquor to such states, as permitted under rule 19/B and 88/B, and as per quantity permitted under the Goa Excise Duty Rules, 1964. The States to which permits are issued are Delhi, Kerala,
Rajasthan, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Jammu and Kashmir and Daman
and Diu.
