State may peg IMFL prices at a new high

The excise duty is proposed to be charged in the form of additional duty on liquor served in five star and three hotels. “Sales tax is already levied on food served in these hotels. Similarly, we can introduce additional tax on IMFL. Let the rich pay for the welfare of the state,” a senior Finance Department official declared. State welfare notwithstanding, the move may bring about a substantial hike in liquor prices in the state.

Not too long ago, the alliance government had proposed to auction country liquor licences with a view to mobilising an additional Rs 500 crore. However, mounting pressure by liquor barons has delayed the decision.As for the levy of additional sales tax on lottery tickets, the official said it has been planned to legalise the sale. “The proposal is to register the dealers of other states in Maharashtra and charge the additional sales tax at source,” the official added.

The official said there was no other alternative to tackle the financial crisis. “If we can’t rustle up an additional Rs 1200 crore, we will have to impose a budgetary cut of at least 10 to 20 per cent,” the official said.“The increase in excise duty would bring in Rs 500-600 crore while the sales tax on lottery tickets would fetch another 100 crore,” he pointed out.Planning as well as Finance Department officials felt the state had landed in the current mess due to unrealistic projections.

“The size of the current plan is Rs 8,325 crore, which we think is too large and may not be implemented in letter and spirit,” the official said.A senior Bharatiya Janata Party minister said Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Madhu Dandavate had also objected to the size of the plan saying the alliance government would not be able to realise it. “Normally, the plan size shows an increase of 10 to 15 per cent over the previous year. However, the alliance government has deviated from the convention,” the minister added.

Moreover, the minister said, the government has fixed “unrealistic targets”, particularly for the Sales Tax, Excise and Revenue departments. “We don’t think we can achieve these targets,” he pointed out.

Finance Minister Mahadev Shivankar however assured that the entire government machinery had been geared up for the purpose. “We will have to mobilise our resources to deal with the situation. The size of the plan is undoubtedly very high, but we won’t need to reduce it, nor will we need an overdraft,” Shivankar said.