the goan I network
PANAJI
In what should come as music to the state government’s ears, Goa’s excise collections grew by 17.5% in the nine months from April to December 2017. Reliable sources informed that the state government earned Rs 265.1 crore in April-Dec 2017, which was 17.5% more than Rs 225.5 crore earned in April-Dec ember 2016.
The state government is struggling to grow its tax revenues ever since the GST was rolled out on July 1, 2017. Moreover, GST Council has reduced rates on a number of occasions, which has further limited the ability of the state government to grow its tax revenue. Given this, a growth of 17.5% in excise collections is a good sign.
Besides, a growth of 17.5% in excise shows what the alcohol retail industry has been saying all along “ that the SC order wouldn’t adversely affect the sales of liquor in the state.
When the SC had banned the sale of alcohol through all channels within 500 meters of national and state highways, a lot of apprehensions were raised saying that it would drastically affect the excise collections. But, it hasn’t turned out to be the case.
Dattaprasad Naik, president of Goa Liquor Traders Association, said, “If a person wants to drink, he wouldn’t bother that there are no liquor shops within 500 meters from the highways. He would go to a shop beyond 500 meters and buy alcohol. Moreover, the excise collections have also gone up because the number of Indian tourists has grown in the state, which has resulted in an increase in demand.”
The excise collections have expectedly peaked in October-December 2017 quarter to Rs 108.5 crore, which was 14.3% more than Rs 94.9 crore collected in the corresponding period in the previous year. As tourism season begins in October, both domestic as well as international tourists pour in the state resulting in growth in liquor’s demand and also in excise collections.
For the nine months from April to December 2017, excise collections were highest in December at Rs 40.06 crore. At Rs 40.06 crore, December’s excise revenue was almost double of Rs 20.9 crore collected in April 2017. This again shows the impact of tourism season, as December is the peak of season while April is off-season.
