UP govt hikes excise revenue target for FY23 to Rs 41,000 crore

New state excise policy aims to weed out liquor cartels

The Uttar Pradesh government is targetting to mop up about Rs 41,000 crore in excise revenue in the next 2022-23 financial year.

Compared to the target of Rs 34,500 crore for the current fiscal year 2021-22, the target for the coming year is almost 19 percent higher.

The new excise policy announced on Saturday is aimed at augmenting the financial resources of the state by regulating and controlling the manufacture, transport, import, export, sale, and possession of quality liquor.

Besides, the new policy aims at providing liquor at reasonable prices, attracting investment, and transforming UP into a self-sustainable producing state.

According to UP Additional Chief Secretary, Excise, Sanjay Bhoosreddy, the policy also had the objective of increasing the income of farmers by protecting crops from being destroyed and creating employment opportunities.

“Further, we aim at keeping the consumption of liquor in safe limits and eradicate the monopoly of liquor mafias by ushering in transparency and fairness in the allotment of shops,” he added.

Ease of doing business and good governance would be encouraged and the transfer of funds would be made through a digital medium, he informed.

In the new policy, the state has increased the license fee of foreign liquor, beer, ‘bhang’, and model shops by 7.5 percent.

The license fee and security of FL-1 and FL-1A licenses of distilleries have been increased, while the processing fee, renewal fee, license fee, and security have also been hiked.

Similarly, the registration fee, renewal fee of Master Warehouse has been increased, while the license fee of the bar has been kept unchanged.

Meanwhile, a relaxation of Rs 50,000 for the first year in the combined license fees of bar and microbrewery shall be given in case these are applied for collectively. The license fee of Premium Retail Vends has been fixed at Rs 20 lakh per year.

To educate citizens regarding responsible drinking, a special drive will be conducted with a budget of Rs one crore allocated for such activities.