Odisha govt forms panel to revise IMFL offer price

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Aug 16:

The Odisha government has decided to set up a panel to revise the offer price on liquor and plans to convene a meeting of the price fixation committee soon to take a final call on this.

The meeting will also deliberate on reducing the annual license fee for hotels and restaurants o serve liquor from Rs 9.5 lakhs to Rs 8.5 lakhs per annum.

The government has already decided to receive the payment from the liquor shop license holders in four equal installments instead of two installments as is the practice now.

The decisions were taken on the basis of an expert committee report that had been set up after several liquor manufacturers and shop owners requested the government for changes in the maximum retail price, margin on offer price on India Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and beer, and license fee on shops.

It may be noted that back in April this year, beer manufacturers had stopped supplies to Odisha State Beverages Corporation (OSBC), the state-run wholesale distributor of beer and Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), over a dispute on the price of supply. The matter had reached the courts and the High Court, in an interim order, had asked beer makers to resume supply at old prices pending disposal of the case.

On February 28 this year, the state cabinet had given its approval to the draft excise policy for 2015-16 that had allowed a new fee structure and more excise duty for liquor shops in the state, including beer parlors and foreign liquor on-shops.