Foreign liquor, wine to be cheaper in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has reduced excise duty on Foreign Made Foreign Liquor (FMFL) and wine in its Excise Policy for 2022-23.

With this, the FMFL and wine will be cheaper in the state.

Excise duty on FMFL has been reduced by 15 to 20 per cent while it has been decreased by 10 to 15 per cent on wine, official sources said.

The state government took the decision to reduce the excise duty in order to address the disparity in MRP with neighbouring states and promote high-quality FMFL and low-strength wine. 

People of Odisha were reportedly preferring to buy FMFL and wine from neighbouring states like Chhattisgarh and West Bengal due to lower price there. As a result, the state exchequer was incurring losses.

However, excise duty on Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and beer remained unchanged.

On the other hand, license fee, minimum guaranteed quantity and application fee for manufacturers, suppliers and retailers have been increased nominally in the new excise policy.

Besides, no license will be granted to a liquor shop having the name of deities/ eminent personalities (living or dead) which can hurt the sentiments of the people. Home delivery of liquor will also continue in the state.