the goan I network
PANAJI
Whether you like having a pint of beer or a peg of whiskey or any other kind of alcohol, it is very likely that you will have to pay more for liquor from April 1 as the Finance Department has increased the excise on manufacture and sale of several types of alcohol in the State.
However, it is not just the excise duty, which has been revised upwards, but even the license fees for several kinds of alcohol business have been considerably increased.
For example, the State government has doubled the yearly license fees for distilleries manufacturing Indian Made Foreign Liquor (also known as IMFL, other than beer, wine, or milk punch) and which are categorised as a micro enterprise or small enterprise from Rs 1 lakh earlier to Rs 2 lakh now. IMFL includes all kinds of spirits like whiskey, vodka, rum, gin etc.
A steep rise has also been announced in the license fees of breweries. For a brewery with annual capacity of upto 2 lakh cases, the license fee has gone up from Rs 3 lakh earlier to Rs 4 lakh now. A brewery with an annual capacity of more than 30 lakh cases will have to shell out Rs 20 lakh for license fee compared to Rs 15 lakh earlier.
Similarly, license fees have been increased at several stages of alcohol retail as well, whether hotels, cruise vessels and etc. A 5-star hotel or aboveThree ministers to
define ‘urban areas’ for sale of liquor
PANAJI: The government has constituted a 3-member committee of Cabinet ministers headed by Minister of Urban Development and Law, Francisco D’Souza to recommend parameters based on which areas could be declared as similar to municipalities for implementing the SC judgement as well as criteria for grant of licences for retail sale of liquor in such areas. The other member of the committee are Vijai Sardesai and Rohan Khaunte.
The government has been receiving several representations from retail liquor shop owners, restaurateurs and others in whose cases the license of retail sale of liquor has not been renewed pursuant to the judgement of SC.
