Since excise duties on liquor are charged on the "proof liter" of its alcohol content, this lower proportion will cause a consequent decrease in the MRP of the product to wean away drinkers from consuming cheaply-priced and dangerous hooch.
Tipplers in Maharashtra may soon get their daily poison at a lower rate, but with a less potent kick. The state government is planning to reduce the strength of alcohol in country liquor to make it cheaper.
Since excise duties on liquor are charged on the "proof liter" of its alcohol content, this lower proportion will cause a consequent decrease in the MRP of the product to wean away drinkers from consuming cheaply-priced and dangerous hooch.
State Excise Commissioner V Radha said the plan was at the conceptual stage. State excise officials said the idea was to allow a change in the "proof" strength of alcohol to bring down liquor prices and prevent country liquor consumers from drinking hooch. Officials added that this liquor could also be marketed as a new segment in addition to what is being sold today. "Today, country liquor is in the range of 23 to 27 degree under proof," an official said, adding that the new range was yet to be decided.
The state charges excise duty on country liquor at the rate of Rs 135 per proof liter or 2.17 times of the manufacturing cost, whichever is higher.
Country liquor and hooch share the same consumer catchment. In 1973, the state government launched the country liquor scheme to make good quality liquor available at cheap rates. However, officials admit that despite this, hooch, which is sold at Rs 10 to Rs 20 per pouch, held out a lure as compared to country liquor. A excise official said that based on the country liquor experience, the state could also consider a similar system for Indian Made Foreign Liquor.
Moreover, the state, whose revenues will be hit because of the Supreme Court order banning liquor sale on state and national highways, will have to contend with lower collections due to the move.
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