The Delhi Government’s Excise department has given orders to open 66 more private liquor shops which were closed due to the spread of Coronavirus.
Notably, the Government has earned Rs 110 from the cess in just 15 days of imposing special corona fee on liquor.
If officials of Delhi Government are to be believed, Government is expecting more revenue with the opening of more shops.
As per the data from the Delhi Excise department, the earning was about Rs 55 crore till May 12, whereas after the ‘’special corona fee’’ the collection went up to Rs 70 crore by May 15 and by May 21, the cess amount was Rs 110 crore.
While close to 100 liquor vends were allowed to open in lockdown 3.0, now about 200 shops are functional across the city, including standalone shops and those in market places.
From Saturday, 66 private liquor shops were allowed to open by the Excise Department.
According to official data, Delhi has more than 850 liquor shops, of which around 150 are located in malls and at the airportwhich will not be allowed to operate.
From May 5, the government imposed a special corona fee on liquorwhich is 70 per cent of the MRP.
With an aim to discourage overcrowding at liquor shops, Delhi Government had initiated e - token system
Earlier, the Delhi Government has also increased the value added tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel.
According to an official figure for the current financial year, the Government was expecting about 15 per cent of its total revenue generation from liquor sales.
According to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, every year in April, the estimated revenue generation is Rs 3,500 crore, but this year, it was just Rs 300 crore.
He came out in public saying if the situation continued, it will be difficult for the government to pay salaries to its employees.