Panaji: Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has assured to partially rollback the hike proposed in the state budget in the license fees for liquor warehouses.
President of All Goa liquor Traders Association Dattaprasad Naik said that the chief minister has assured partial withdrawal of the license fees for the non-bonded
warehouses which are typically used for storing duty-paid liquor.
The association has around 1,000 members under its
umbrella.
If the assurance materialises into action, it will
benefit more than 2,000 traders across the state, he said.
Parrikar`s proposal to raise the annual license fees
for all warehouses from Rs 3,000 to Rs 10,000 caused
discontent among the traders in the coastal state which is
known for low-cost booze.
Naik, however, clarified that the fee structure for
the bonded warehouses, which are usually run by the liquor
companies and big-time traders, will remain the same.
Goa government in the budget presented on March 26 had
proposed to hike the Value Added Tax (VAT) on the liquor from
20 percent to 22 percent resulting into increase in liquor
prices.
The proposed raise in the fees for warehouses was
feared to be affecting small-time traders.
PTI
