In what can be said as a really bad news for booze lovers in Gurugram and Faridabad, people there will now have to pay 20% extra to buy liquor as per the new tax policy. Also, this hike is applicable on Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), country liquor and on the foreign liquor as well.
Excise and taxation minister Captain Abhimanyu on March 5 introduced this policy, which is being touted as the ‘vendor biased’ because it will be beneficial only for the sellers. This policy will be applicable for the year 2017-18.
The bad news does not stop here. Also, the license fee of pubs and bars have been hiked from Rs 12 lakh to 15 lakh per annum, therefore, those living in Gurugram and Faridabad excise zones will have to pay more for drinking in pubs and bars, all thanks to this new development.
This can also be said as ‘vendor biased’ policy as it provides various choices to the sellers such as selling number of brands from one shop. That means vendor under the new policy can sell Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), country liquor and foreign liquor from same place. These are the choices that were not given to the sellers previously.
Contractors have also been given the freedom to chose the location from where they want to sell liquor and can also open two sub-vends at the places of their choices in the zone given to them. However, Supreme Court order that bars liquor shops near national and state highways, have also been taken into consideration.
