Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Wednesday said the Delhi Government has earned 23 per cent less revenue in the current financial year but it will gain Rs 10,000 crore from bidding of liquor shops under the new excise policy.
Briefing media online, Sisodia who also holds the portfolio of Finance Minister in Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Government, said that we will get Rs 10, 000 crore revenue from bidding of liquor shops under the new excise policy and we have received nearly 225 bids for 32 zones of the city. “This will be around Rs 3,500 crore extra revenue from what we got in 2019-20. In the financial year 2019-20, the Government had collected a revenue of Rs 6,300 crore from bidding of liquor shops,” Sisodia said.
He said the extra revenue is a result of reforms in the excise policy as earlier such revenue was stolen.
The deputy CM also said that the AAP-led Delhi Government earned 41 per cent less revenue last year due to Covid-19 pandemic.
Due to coronavirus-induced lockdown, economic activities are less so tax collection is low. Under value-added tax (VAT), the Government earned 25 per cent less revenue in the current fiscal, while in excise it collected 30 per cent less revenue, he said.
The Minister added that collections in stamp duty and motor vehicle taxes are also down by 16 per cent and 19 per cent, respectively, for the current fiscal.
“Delhi people contribute 1, 40, 000 Crores to central taxes but the Centre gives only Rs 325 crore to Delhi from the pool while other States get 42 percent,” he said. “From next year, the Delhi Government will not be receiving the GST compensation as well. Throughout the country, all State Governments will not be getting GST compensations from next year. I reiterate that the Delhi Government does not get the 42% share from Central Tax Collection via the Finance Commission of the Central Government. This 42% is given to the rest of the States, but not Delhi. For the past 20 years, Delhi gets a grant of Rs. 325 crores from the Central Government while Delhi’s people pay a tax of approximately rupees one lac forty thousand crores through the Central tax,” Sisodia explained.
Illustrating the provisions in the new excise policy, the AAP leader said, “under the new policy no shop’s window will be facing the road. The counter will have to be put within the campus of the shop. The size of the shop should be a minimum of 500 sq. feet. The shopkeeper will have to install CCTV cameras and ensure that there is no liquor consumption in the open.
All of this strictness will improve the liquor consumption experience in Delhi. This will make the experience neat and clean.”
New liquor shops in Delhi will start opening from November 17th onwards.
