Bhubaneswar: Deciding to open liquor sale from Sunday, the Osiaha government has levied an additional Covid- Duty of 50% on liquor. The liquor will now only be sold online and through home delivery.
The State government has clarified that the additional revenue collected would be spent in the fight against the Coronavirus pandemic.
The 50% Covid-19 additional duty will be levied on the liquor prices of 2019-20.
The State government had set a target of Rs 5250 crore excise revenue for 2020-21. The target was Rs 4600 for 2019-20. The excise revenue collected in 2018-19 was Rs 3925 crore.
Due to Covid-19 pandemic, the liquor sale banned due to lockdown in March. This decision is expected to affect the excise revenue collection in 2019-20 and also in 2020-21.
The government has amended the Odisha Excise Act, 2017 to this effect
The government has decided that the liquor will not be available across the counter. The sale would be only through home delivery and only in non-containmentn zones. However, the home delivery charges will be collected from the customer.
The government has fixed the rate for home delivery. Rs 100 will be charged for purchase of first Rs 1000 worth of liquor. Subsequently, Rs 25 will be charged for purchase of every next Rs 500. Maximum Rs 300 could be collected as delivery charges. The order could be booked between 7am to 7pm. The delivery will be within 6 hours.
The dealders can make their own arrangement for home delivery or they can take the help of organisations in the home delivery service business.
