Liquor rate

During the lockdown, several states including Delhi imposed special corona-tax on liquor after long queues were witnessed at liquor-shops were opened during the lockdown evidently to fill gap in tax-collection to some extent where liquor-sale accounts for 15-25 per cent of total tax collection in a state.

But such levying corona-levy differently in different states resulted in inter-state smuggling of liquor with liquor being smuggled from states with less liquor-tax to states with higher liquor-tax.

An urgent meeting of GST council should be summoned to rationalize GST rate-structure to merge corona-levy on liquor by increasing GST on liquor. Since consumption of liquor is not good for health and family-life, highest corona-levy by any state or even higher should be considered for having new increased GST rate on liquor. This will be of help to financially-troubled states in managing their budget with GST-collection on other commodities expected to be reduced to its lowest level.

It is time that all petroleum products including petrol, diesel, CNG, LPG may also be brought under GST to have common and uniform rates throughout the country.

Madhu Agrawal,

Dariba, Chandni Chowk

DELHI 110006