The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Tuesday withdrew the additional excise duty of 50 per cent levied on liquor after the outbreak of Covid-19 as a new excise policy for the remainder of 2020-2021 financial year came into force in the Union Territory, a senior Government officer said.
Excise Commissioner Rajesh Kumar Shavan said the new policy for the first time provides for reservation of 12 per cent to six categories of people, including ex-servicemen, those belonging weaker sections and unemployed youths, in opening bars and restaurants at tourist destinations across the Union Territory. “The additional 50 per cent excise duty on liquor (which was levied in May), commonly known as corona tax, has been withdrawn from today after the implementation of the new excise policy,” Shavan told reporters here.