Puducherry hikes excise duty across all liquor categories

Tipplers in the Union Territory of Puducherry will now have to pay more for their booze , as the UT government has implemented a significant hike in Excise Duty (ED) and Additional Excise Duty (AED) across all liquor categories.

The revised rates, issued by the Department of Revenue and Disaster Management (Excise), came into effect on 28th May and mark the first such increase since July 2019.

According to the official notification, duty on cheaper and ordinary IMFL brands (priced below Rs 600 per case) has increased from Rs 100 to Rs 110 per proof litre. For medium and premium brands (Rs 600 and above per case), the duty has gone up from Rs 115 to Rs 125 per proof litre. Wine has seen a rise in AED from Rs 25 to Rs 30 per bulk litre, while beer duties have increased from Rs 10 to Rs 12 per bulk litre.

The additional excise duty structure has also been revised with rationalized slabs. For IMFL, AED now ranges between Rs 85 and Rs 325 per proof litre. For beer, the revised AED is between Rs 33 and Rs 42 per bulk litre, and for wine, it ranges from Rs 50 to Rs 145 per bulk litre.

As a result of this excise overhaul, retail liquor prices have gone up significantly. As reported, a 750 ml bottle of IMFL will now cost Rs 10 to Rs 47 more, while a 180 ml bottle will be costlier by Rs 3 to Rs 11. Beer prices have risen by Rs 6 to Rs 7 per 650 ml bottle, and wine prices have jumped by Rs 13 to Rs 26 for a 750 ml bottle.

The UT government expects to earn an additional Rs 185 crore in revenue this financial year from the revised excise duties.