Delhi, June 10: Liquor in Delhi will turn cheaper from today as the AAP government has decided to remove the 70 percent corona tax on alcohol. The decision to withdraw the fee was taken based on the inputs of the Excise Department who suggested that retaining it may encourage smuggling of liquor from neighbouring Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, effectively leading to losses to the exchequer.

The Cabinet has however decided to increase the VAT “from 20 percent to 25 percent levied on all categories of liquor sold in the jurisdiction of NCT of Delhi”. This will result in the price of the liquor to remain a little above the pre-May 5 mark.  According to a local in the national capital, he said, "I am happy. The decrease in the price is a bit of relief. 5 percent tax can be adjusted but 70 percent tax was very high". Liquor Prices Shoot Up in Delhi, Govt Levies 70% Tax as 'Special Corona Fees' on MRP to Mitigate COVID-19 Impact. 

 Liquor to turn cheaper in Delhi from today:

The number of cases in the national capital is also on the rise. Delhi has recorded 31,209 cases and 905 deaths so far.  India has reported 9,985 new coronavirus cases and 279 deaths in the past 24 hours. The total number of coronavirus cases in the country has increased to 2,76,583 on Wednesday. The death toll, on the other hand, has increased to 7,745 in the country.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 10, 2020 11:53 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).