Haryana government’s has brought changes in excise rules that will allow bars to remain open till 1 am in Panchkula, Gurgaon and Faridabad. The changes will also make beer and wine cheaper in the three cities as well as reduce the burden of taxes on the hotels and restaurants that serve liquor to their customers.
Bar owners can also reap benefits by opting to keep their bars open till 3 am by paying a one-time additional fee of ₹10 lakh per hour.
The new provisions will come into effect later this year on April 1.
All these policy changes were revealed on Thursday, 20 February, after a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, released the Haryana government’s excise policy for the financial year 2020-21. Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala raised hopes of higher revenue for the state government from the excise duty to ₹7,500 crores in FY 2021, ₹800-900 crore than the estimated revenue of the ongoing financial year.
The Deputy Chief Minister also disclosed the changes in excise duty levied on the different categories of alcoholic drinks in the three cities.
The amendments to the policy are as follows:
- The government has reduced the duty on beer with a concentration of alcohol between 3.5 and 5.5 percent to ₹40 per bulk litre (BL) instead of ₹50 per bulk litre.
- Drinks with alcoholic content more than 5.5 percent have received a cut of ₹10, from ₹55 per BL to ₹45 per BL.
- On a new category of beer with alcoholic content up to 3.5 percent, called Super Mild Beer, the government has fixed the excise duty at ₹35 per BL.
- Country-made liquor: The state government, however, has decided to levy higher taxes on country-made liquor, making them more expensive than the state-grown liquor. The excise duty on one category has been increased from ₹44 to ₹60 per proof litre.
- 4-Star Hotels: The license fee for bars in these hotels has been reduced to ₹22.5 lakh per year instead of ₹38 lakh.
- 3-Star Hotels: It is now ₹15 lakh instead of ₹20 lakh. For those in Gurgaon, it is ₹20 lakh and Faridabad, it is ₹17 lakh.
- Non-star rated restaurants: The license fee for bars here has been reduced to ₹10 lakh from ₹12 lakh in all districts, except Faridabad and Gurgaon.
- The number of liquor vends: These will increase to 2,600 from an existing 2,500.
- The amended policy has put a hold setting up fresh distillation and bottling plants in the state until the capacity utilisation of the prevailing divisions touches 90 percent.
Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL): The duty on this hard liquor stands the same.
Temporary 1-day license: Relax, as it will now be stress-free attaining a provisional one-day license for serving alcohol at events. The form can be filled online.
News Source: The Quint
Image Source: Google Images
