Uttarakhand allows bottling of foreign liquor

The Uttarakhand government has for the first time permitted bottling of foreign liquor in the state under its new excise policy for the fiscal 2024-25. This move aims to attract excise revenue and investment. A revenue target of Rs 4440 crore has been given for the financial year 2024-2025 with an increase of 11 percent against the revenue target of Rs 4000 crore for the current financial year 2023-24.

Under the new excise policy, the hilly state also made provisions for the first time for bulk license FL-2 (O) for the supply of overseas liquor, so that the trade of overseas liquor coming through custom bond can be controlled in the interest of revenue. The policy provision has been made for setting up micro distillation units to encourage innovation and investment in the hilly areas of the state.

In the new fiscal, Uttarakhand has proposed to establish itself as a hub for the production of world class aromatic liquor, wines/malts like Scotland and Italy, etc. In the interest of the farmers associated with agriculture/horticulture of the state, under the new excise policy, local fruits like tangerine, malta, apple, pear, peach, etc. are being permitted to be processed for the country liquor production in Uttarakhand .

Under the new excise policy, the state government has stipulated provisions for renewal of licenses with eligibility criteria. In the new excise policy, two stage lottery system has been introduced to allot liquor shops in the state. Renewal of liquor shops will be done only for those licence holders, whose all the past due liabilities are cleared and whose securities are secure. It will be mandatory for the applicant to file ITR of two years along with the application form for allotment of the liquor shop in Uttarkhand, under the new excise policy. An applicant can be allotted a maximum of three liquor shops in the state, according to the new excise policy.

Under the new policy, provisions have been made for supply of spiced liquor of 36 percent v/v strength or spicy and plain liquor of 25 percent v/v strength and special grade metro liquor in country liquor shops. Transfer of quota of foreign/country liquor will be allowed up to 10 percent of the quota surcharge. Unlike last year, bar license fee in Uttarakhand has been fixed according to the star category and provision has been made for seasonal bar license fee in the new excise policy. This measure can promote tourism in Uttarakhand.