TN to hike excise duty on liquor

With the state government deciding to increase excise duty on liquor, branded alcohol is likely to cost more in Tamil Nadu.

A bill seeking to hike the excise duty or countervailing duty on Indian Made Foreign Spirits (IMFL) to increase revenue to the state exchequer from liquor sale was introduced in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Monday.

The move comes amidst a slight decline of 0.18 per cent in liquor sale in 2013-14, when the government earned Rs 21,641.14 crore in 2013-14 against the revenue of Rs 21,680.67 crore the same period last year.

The bill, moved by Excise Minister Natham Viswanathan, seeks to enhance the maximum rate of excise duty in respect of ordinary, medium and premium brands to Rs 250, Rs 300 and Rs 500 respectively per proof litre.

“With a view to augmenting the revenue of the State, it has been decided to enhance the maximum rate of excise duty leviable on IMFL Spirits from Rs 125 to Rs 250 per proof litre in the case of ordinary brands, Rs 300 per proof litre in the case of medium brands and Rs 500 per proof litre in the case of premium brands”.

Sources from the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation, the state-owned monopoly liquor seller, revealed that the excise duty for the ordinary brands of brandy, whiskey, rum and vodka is currently Rs 660 per case, while duty for medium and premium brands is Rs 850 per case.