Maharashtra government cut Excise Duty on imported scotch by 50%, Alcohol became more affordable

Maharashtra government has made the decision to make imported scotch whiskey more affordable as it is set to slash the excise duty on the particular class of liquor by 50 percent.

The reduction in the excise duties will bring the imported scotch whiskey’s price down and it will be now on par with that of other states. The customers will get a better price and do not have to buy it from other states.

According to reports, “The excise duty on imported scotch whiskey has been brought down from 300 per cent to 150 per cent of the manufacturing cost.” And the excise duty on imported scotch will be cut by 50 percent.

The notification of the slashing of excise duty came on thursday. The revenue of about Rs 100 crore is earned by the Maharashtra government only from the sale of imported scotch annually. And now their revenue will increase even more as the sale of liquor will soar due to lower prices.

According to officials, The government is expecting to raise the revenue to ₹250 crores as sale is expected to rise from one lakh bottles to 2.5 lakh bottles. The official also claimed that the reduction in duty would also curb smuggling of scotch from other states and sale of spurious liquor.

At the same time, the liquor shops in Delhi will now reopen on Wednesday after remaining closed for about a month and a half. As per the new liquor policy, the customers will not have to stand out on roads while waiting for their turn to buy from small windows but instead the new shops will be walk-in.