PUDUCHERRY: Liquor prices in Puducherry are likely to go up by Rs 1 or Rs 2 per bottle as the Cabinet has approved a proposal from the Excise Department in this regard. Chief Minister V Narayanasamy, who chaired the Cabinet meeting on Friday, said the prices of the Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) were 60 per cent lower in Puducherry than in other States including Tamil Nadu.
“The prices will be enhanced by Rs 1 or Rs 2 per bottle, in such a way that traders and consumers are not affected,” he said. However, he did not divulge details of the hike. A notification to this effect will be issued in a day or two.
Excise is one of the main revenue sources for UT. In the last financial year, the government earned `850-crore excise revenue, which exceeded the revised budgetary target by Rs 10 crore.
In the current year, the government hopes to earn Rs 120 crore more revenue by enhancing the IMFL rates against the target of Rs 925 crore.
In fact, the government-owned Puducherry Distilleries Limited enhanced the arrack rates from Rs 40 per litre to Rs 46 earlier this week. With an average of 1.10 crore litres sold by the undertaking, the government will earn an enhanced revenue of around Rs 5 crore, thanks to the rate hike.
Rs 850 cr was earned as excise revenue in the Union Territory in the last financial year, which exceeded the revised budgetary target by Rs 10 crore