Booze in Goa to become costlier from April

Come April 1, and your booze might get a bit pricier in Goa. Chief Minister of Goa Pramod Sawant recently said in the assembly that liquor is all set to cost up to 50 per cent more from the coming financial year.

While presenting his maiden budget, the Chief Minister moved to make property and booze pricey in Goa. The increase in tax rates is expected to yield INR 250 to 300 crore additional revenue, which would be used to complete the ongoing infrastructure works in the state.
Talking about the budget, he told the media that they have only made a small hike in tax so as not to increase the burden on the common man, and that they have hiked fees and excise duties a little, stamp duty has been hiked, land rates have been revised, and court fees have been increased. Further during his budget speech from 2020-21, he added that Goa has a limited tax base through which revenue can be augmented, and that they are making special efforts to plug the leakages and enhance efficiency in tax collections.
Also, to fix the tax leakages, Sawant increased the excise duty on Indian foreign liquor (IMFL), which includes blended whiskey, beer and rum. Further, the most interesting part is that the government has also increased the excise duty on feni, thereby making this most popular local drink pricier by INR 100 to 200, depending on the retail selling price of the bottle.
However, what will bring you a sigh of relief is that despite the recent hikes, booze available in Goa would continue to be cheaper than that in other states. The Chief Minister even promised to come down heavy on black-marketing by proposing to introduce a unique hologram on each bottle, which would help authenticate the liquor.