Disclaimer: Consumption of alcohol is harmful to health and we do not encourage it.
Have you ever thought about how much the bottle of alcohol you have been drinking all your life in one state costs for in another state of our country? Well, we all know that liquor tax differs from state to state depending on several different factors.?
You drinking budget cannot be the same in all Indian states since the prices are vastly different.?
However, have you ever had it jotted down in a list so that you can compare rates from all over the country? We all know Goa has cheap alcohol whereas Maharashtra has high tax levied on alcohol but what about the other states? College days in Pune meant splurging Rs 600 for a bottle of Old Monk whereas the same costs Rs 300 in Chandigarh which is the double amount of the same brand!?
We curated a list for you to understand and know the prices of alcohol across the country.?
The most common taxes are excise duty and levies such as sales tax, gallonage fee, and license fee; some states even charge VAT on the level of production and distribution.
Andhra Pradesh - 75 per cent hike in excise duty?
Delhi - 70 per cent special corona fee?
West Bengal - 30 per cent hike in excise duty?
Rajasthan - 35 per cent hike in excise duty on IMFL,?40 per cent on other liquor categories?
Uttar Pradesh - Rs 10 hike on 190 mL of the quarter, Rs 50 increase on the premium alcohol bottle?
HaryanaRs 2 ¨C Rs 50 Corona cess depending on the brand?
Karnataka -? 17 per cent hike in excise duty?
Tamil Nadu - 15 per cent hike in excise duty on IMFL?
Chhattisgarh - Established portal to home deliver liquor in Green Zones?
Assam - 25 per cent excise duty hike on IMFL?
Meghalaya - 25 per cent hike
As proven above, the rates of alcohol will always remain extremely different from state to state. However, these rates are not fixed and can/will change depending on several different factors regarding the state government.?
State excise duty levied on liquor and other alcohol-based items make up for 10-15 per cent of Own Tax Revenue of many states. After GST, excise duty on liquor is the second or third largest contributor to the State¡¯s Own Tax Revenue. On average, states collected about Rs 15,000 crore per month in 2019-20 from excise on liquor and the figure was expected to increase this fiscal year until the pandemic was declared.
Some states also collect VAT on liquor and charge a special fee on imported foreign liquor or transport fee and label and brand registration charges. Uttar Pradesh has a special duty on liquor to collect funds for purposes like maintenance of stray cattle.
States depend on liquor revenue to boost their economy as it is one of the highest contributors. You can understand the Tax Structure of Excise Duty here.