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If you are in Noida, perhaps it’s is times to say cheers to cow protection. On Friday, UP cabinet cleared a special fees on the sale of beer and foreign liquor in the state, the revenue from which will go into setting up and management of temporary cow shelters.
A special fees of Rs 10 per bottle will be applicable on consumption of foreign liquor in restaurants and hotels, while Rs 5 will be charged on each bottle of beer. A special fees has also been levied on bottling of beer and foreign liquor, with the exception of economy brands, in all distilleries and breweries. The fee ranges from Re 1 to Rs 3 per bottle. Another fee of 50 p to Rs 2 per bottle will be imposed on import permit fee for beer and alcohol manufactured in UP.
With this additional fees, the excise department is expected to contribute about Rs 165 crore annually for cow protection in the state as per the present sales figures.
On January 2, the government had passed directions for establishing temporary cow shelters in the state to deal with the stray cattle menace that is affecting urban and rural areas alike. The excise department had been asked to levy fees on various items to generate revenue to fund setting up and maintenance of these shelters.
Excise minister Jai Pratap Singh, who was earlier against imposition of any fees on alcohol, said that they had worked out a system by which the department could contribute Rs 165 crore annually to the state.
“Due to demand by distillery owners to expand capacity, we are looking at the possibility of allowing them to do so from current 80% to 90%. This increase is required due to the increased demand in the state,” he said.
In the meantime, there would definitely be an impact on the price of alcohol though only beer and a few varieties of alcohol would be affected since Indian brands and economy brands of foreign alcohol had not been included under the fees.