Assam collected Rs 22,744 crore as excise revenue, including VAT, in the past eight years, registering an over three-fold increase during the period.
GUWAHATI: Assam collected Rs 22,744 crore as excise revenue, including VAT, in the past eight years, registering an over three-fold increase during the period.
The excise revenue collection, including VAT, in the state was Rs 1,433 crore in 2016-17. The collection increased to Rs 4.798 crore in 2022-23. The excise revenue collection up to January in the current financial year is Rs 4,281 crore.
Nandita Das of the Congress raised this issue during the Question Hours today. On behalf of Das, Congress MLA Jakir Hussain said, “The spree of opening wine shops for the sake of revenue collection will make the youth in the state go astray. The increase in the number of wine shops leads to an increase in their customers.”
In his reply, Excise Minister Atul Bora said, “Increasing revenue collection is not the motto of the government. We also want an alcohol-free society. Cooperation from all sections is a must to make this happen.”
Bora further said, “We’ve banned illicit liquor (sulai) that is highly risky for health. The state has no sulai mahals now. We’ve issued licenses for country liquor shops. The country liquors on sale now are brewed by checking negative effects. The state has 996 country liquor shops, 1836 IMFL shops, and 1060 bars. The department carries out drives against roadside hotels and dhabas that sell liquor illegally. Two days ago, the department busted an illegal liquor manufacturing unit at Barapani in Meghalaya, leading to the seizure of around 3,000 IMFL cases, empty bottles of different brands, holograms of Assam and Meghalaya Excise departments, etc.”
