Maharashtra hikes excise duty from Rs 33 to Rs 42 on beer

Beer lovers in Maharashtra should brace up to pay more for the dear drink. The state government has proposed to hike excise duty from Rs 33 to Rs 42 on per bulk litre of beer, breezer, and micro-brewery.

According to senior excise department official, they proposed to increase the excise duty on mild beer from 150 per cent to 175 per cent on production value of the beer. "The rise in excise duty is either on production value or per bulk litre that is from Rs 33 to Rs 42. The same amount of taxes are increased on breezer and micro-brewery products while the strong beers charges are not changed in this proposed hike," said an official on condition of anonymity.

State government sells 32.50 lakh litres of beer each year amounting to Rs 2,100 crore revenue per year.

A senior excise officer said this proposed hike will help to add at least Rs 90-100 crore of revenue each year. "We have to get the revenue to run the government, and excise is only department that can generate maximum revenue," he said.

He further said that the proposed hike will soon be tabled before the cabinet, and notifications will be issued subsequently.

"State government arbitrarily increases the taxes on liquor each year. The consumer has to pay more than 40 per cent of various taxes in addition to the liquor price. This makes liquor even costlier. Besides, the bars also put additional taxes," said a liquor shop owner requesting anonymity.