Karnataka   

High-end liquor may become dear in Goa

PANAJI: High-end liquor brands may soon face tax in Goa. Buoyed by a 28 per cent increase in the annual excise revenue during the current financial year, the Goa Government is likely to take a decision to restructure the excise duty on imported liquor brands to sustain its revenue growth. The State budget will be presented in the last week of March.

The State’s Excise Department is set to cross the Rs.73-crore mark this fiscal as against last year’s Rs. 57 crore. Excise Commissioner P.S. Reddy’s drive against revenue leakage is showing results.

The Excise Department has tightened its vigil by making transit-cum-transport pass and bill records mandatory for dealers right from the manufacturers to the retailers of liquor. The department has initiated action against units indulging in duplication of big brands, according to Mr. Reddy.

He told The Hindu that the Government was likely to restructure the excise duty structure, particularly for imported wine and liquor, which had been entering the country at a lower import duty, thanks to the General Agreement on Trade Tariffs (GATT). But the agents were often found to be reluctant to pass on the duty concession to the consumers. The department had withdrawn some concessions granted to the beer industry in excise and in fees on IMFL imported in the State after it was found that the manufacturers went back on the condition to pass on the same to the consumers.

The coastal tourist State has a reputation that liquor is not only liberally available, but it is cheaper.

According to the authorities, the truth is that the State, which has 7,000 retail liquor outlets, apart from 240 wholesale outlets, is also dogged by a massive revenue leakage.

Mr. Reddy said the biggest culprits had been many “fake” units operating mostly from the State’s borders with Maharashtra and Karnataka, which were used as fronts for “labelling” of well-known brands and for producing spurious liquor.

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