Mumbai: In an effort to arrest smuggling of imported scotch whiskey, the Maharashtra government has reduced the excise duty on them by 50 per cent. A notification to this effect was issued on Thursday.

According to the state excise department, the duty has been brought down from 300 to 150 per cent of the manufacturing cost.

The duty reduction would help in curbing of smuggling and illegal entry of scotch from other states and the sale of spurious liquor. The Maharashtra government earns revenue of about Rs 100 crore from the sale of imported scotch annually. This is expected to increase to Rs 250 crore, as excise officials expect the sale to go up from one lakh bottles to 2.5 lakh bottles. Bihar Hooch Tragedy: Four Die After Consuming Spurious Liquor in Muzaffarpur

The officer said price of imported scotch whiskey per bottle would come down by 30 to 35 per cent of the existing cost. “The State’s excise duty and benefits that manufacturers receive after the sale are proportionately reduced with the move. Their earnings may go down by 35to 40 per cent,” said the officer.

The manufacturers will declare their revised cost within a few days. On that basis, the maximum retail prices (MRP) will be finalised.

The excise duty is one of the major revenue sources for the state government after Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Stamps and Registration Duty (SRD). The state government has set a collection target of Rs 19,500 crore for 2021-22, as against Rs 15,000 crore which it had mobilised in 2020-21. So far, the state has collected about Rs 9,000 crore, almost 40% of the target for the current fiscal.

According to principal secretary (excise) Valsa Nair Singh “The new notification will reduce MRP on Imported Whisky by around rs 1500-2000. It will make the liquor rates at par with other states and put an end to their illegal entry into Maharashtra. We will be able to stop non duty paid liquor sales in the State and prevent the grey market in this sector.Hope to double revenue in this sector from Rs 100 crores to 250 crores in one year. Sales will go up from 1 lakh cases annually to 2.5 lakh cases. This will apply to whiskey, rum, brandy, gin and vodka and not for beer and wine, she said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 21, 2021 04:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).