Rajasthan govt imposes 20% cess on liquor for cow protection

The Vasundhara Raje government in Rajasthan has decided to impose a 20 per cent cess on liquor for the protection of cows.

“The state government hereby notifies that the surcharge at the rate of 20% shall be levied and collected on the amount of tax or any sum in lieu of tax payable on the sale of foreign liquor, Indian made foreign liquor, country liquor and beer sold by dealers registered under the provisions of the Rajasthan Value Added Tax Act 2003 with effect from July 23, 2018,” a notification issued by the state finance department read.

Recently the state government had hiked stamp duty charges from 10 per cent to 20 per cent in the name of cow protection. The move comes after the Centre slashed approximately 90% of the grants for cows in Rajasthan from its disaster relief fund.