Meghalaya Cabinet has approved the decision to slash the Value Added Tax (VAT) on liquor by 2.5 percent. Along with this the government has also decided to do away with the 25 per cent lifting charges. With the dropping of VAT and the 25 per cent lifting charge, the cost of Liquor in Meghalaya will be cheaper from now on.
The announcement was of the reduction was made by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Friday after chairing a cabinet meeting.
As per reports, the cabinet has approved the reduction of VAT for various brands of liquor by slashing it from 40 per cent to 37.5 per cent. Reports also suggest that the earlier rate of Rs 2 will remain effective as lifting charges.
Commenting in the reduction, Deputy chief minister Prestone Tynsong said, “Now we are in a competitive world. You must have seen that Assam during its budget session has reduced VAT on liquor which has reduced the price drastically. If we don’t reduce, then our turnover will also come down.”
Kyrmen Shylla, Minister-in-charge excise opined that the slashing of VAT shall not have any impact on revenue generation as the sale is expected to increase with the lowering of prices. The minister further said that government is hoping to generate more revenue in this current financial year than the last year.
(Feature image source: India TV)
