Steep hike in liquor prices soon
Tipplers in Telangana state should get ready to shell out more for their favourite spirits. The State government has decided to increase liquor prices by 10-15 per cent from November with a view to generating more revenue to meet the financial exigencies in 2014-15.
TS govt to raise `10,000 cr from liquor sales
- Excise Dept asked to revise liquor prices by 10-15% from November
- Liquor money to fund govt’s promised welfare schemes
- Farm loan waiver will be a huge burden
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Hyderabad: Tipplers in Telangana state should get ready to shell out more for their favourite spirits. The State government has decided to increase liquor prices by 10-15 per cent from November with a view to generating more revenue to meet the financial exigencies in 2014-15. The TS government was learnt to have taken this decision as it was finding it difficult to meet the burden on the state exchequer due to several welfare schemes it had announced before the elections and the additional burden it may have to face on account of the loan waiver scheme.
The State Finance department which is in the midst of preparing the budget proposals is said to have directed the Excise Department to revise the revenue targets prepared for this year. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is said to have given his nod to the proposal. The Excise officials told The Hans India that the department had been asked to set a revenue target of Rs 10,000 crore this financial year as against Rs 8,000 crore last year.
The officials said that the government had instructed the Excise Department to explore all options for the increase of revenues generated from liquor sale. “It is a tight rope walk forthe government to fill the coffers this year because of loan waiver and other welfare schemes which will be in force from October,” the sources said.
The Excise Department is considered to be the second highest revenue generator after Commercial Taxes in the state. As some major business establishments from Hyderabad had moved over to AP a dent has been caused in the earnings of the Commercial Taxes. To fill the revenue gap the government felt that the only option before it was to raise the revenue targets from the Excise Department, the officials said adding the prices of all liquor varieties, including IMFL (Indian Made Foreign Liquor), beer and branded whisky, would be increased by 10 to 15 per cent.
