Chandigarh, March 13 (IANS) The Punjab government on Tuesday approved the new excise policy, with an aim to check liquor cartels that will further help the state to earn additional revenue of Rs 850 crore in the next fiscal.
The excise policy for 2018-19 got the cabinet nod at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, a government spokesperson told IANS.
In the current fiscal, the government expects to collect Rs 5,150 crore as against Rs 4,400 crore collected in 2016-17. In the next fiscal, it aims to earn Rs 6,000 crore from the liquor trade.
The spokesperson said under the new policy the liquor group size has been kept at Rs 5 crore only with variation up to 25 per cent to enable sufficient competition in the market, leading to reduced prices.
Besides, the number of liquor shops will be reduced from 5,850 to approximately 5,700.
The quota of Punjab Medium liquor has been reduced from 8.44 crore proof litres to 5.78 crore proof litres and of the Indian Made Foreign liquor (IMFl) from 3.71 crore proof litres to 2.48 crores proof litres.
--IANS
vg/vd
(This story was auto-published from a syndicated feed. No part of the story has been edited by The Quint.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)
0