Kerala to hike IMFL prices steeply, to issue ordinance soon; govt eyes to gain extra revenue during lockdown

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government on Wednesday decided to increase the price of Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) in order to gain some extra revenue amid COVID-19 lockdown and subsequent slowdown in the economy. [caption id=“attachment_8329611” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. ANI[/caption] The state cabinet, which met here, decided to recommend the governor to issue an ordinance to increase the sales tax on the IMFL. It has recommended to increase ten percent tax for beer and wine and 35 percent for all other categories. At present, the sales tax on IMFL is 202 percent for brands priced up to Rs 400 and 212 percent for brands above that. With the new rates, the percentage will increase to 237 and 247 percent respectively. “All the major revenue generation options of the state government has been stopped due to the lockdown. Lottery sale was stopped, bars were closed. The GST revenue has drastically dropped. Hence the state cabinet has decided to find a revenue generation method,” a release issued by the state government said. The state cabinet has recommended to increase ten per cent tax for beer and wine and 35 percent for all othercategories. With the new rates, the percentage will increase to 237 and 247 percent respectively.