Here’s some bad news for tipplers who have been trying to beat the heat with chilled beer this summer. With the increase in margin of profit, prices of liquor will increase from Rs 10 to Rs 30 per bottle from July 1 in the national Capital.
A notification to this effect has already been served but increase in prices will be made effective from July 1. The margin of profit will be given by liquor manufacturers. If profit margin increases, manufacturers will increase the wholesale prices of liquor.
This will be second increase in liquor prices in Delhi in a fortnight. Earlier, the Excise Department had issued a notification increasing excise duties on liquor that led to 10-30 per cent increase in retail prices. Strangely, the Excise Department has not increased its excise duty in 2013. The revenue collection from excise duty has shown a decline in the current financial year. It has collected Rs 551 crore in 2014-15 as compared to Rs 602 crore from April 1 to June 19 in 2013-14.
Top officials say that profit margin on wholesale prices have been increased from 8-12 per cent for beer; 15-20 per cent for Indian Made Foreign liquor (IMFl) and 3-5 per cent for country liquor. It is estimated that beer prices will increase from Rs 70 to Rs 90; IMFl from Rs 10 to Rs 30 depending on the prices. The margin of profit has not been increased since 2011.
There are 440 liquor vends run by the Government’s four corporations, 90 private vendors and 100 shops in shopping malls across the city. The four corporations are Delhi State Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC), Delhi State Civil Supplies Corporation ltd (DSCSCl) and Delhi Tourism and Development Corporation (DTDC).
As per notification issued earlier, excise duty on light beer has increased from 110 per cent to 150 per cent. For strong beer, the duty goes up from 120 per cent to 150 per cent. In case of Indian Made Foreign liquor, the 750 ml bottles with a price of up to Rs 24, the excise duty is 300 per cent of the manufacturing price. The excise duty for this category remains unchanged. In case of bottles whose manufacturing cost is in the range of Rs 24 to Rs 48 per 750ml, the duty has increased from 170 per cent to 225 per cent. This would be an increase of 55 per cent and is expected to play out in terms of increase in market price in the range of 15 per cent to 20 per cent.