'Policy to make anti-alcohol drive successful'
By 2009-2-5 11:07:11
JAIPUR: Chief minister Ashok Gehlot's anti-alcohol
drive may bear fruit only if the government policy and inverted tax structure are reversed, feel
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experts. The present policy encourages consumption of hard liquor rather than mild alcoholic beverages like beer and wine.
Beer consumption accounts for about 10% of the alcohol consumed in Rajasthan. The tax on beer is more than twice that on Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and almost four times that on country-made liquor on per alcohol unit basis.
Taxes on per alcohol unit on country liquor in Rajasthan is the lowest with 15 paise per milli litre (ml) while for IMFL is 30 per ml for the same quantity. Ironically, strong beer is charged 60 paise per ml while mild beer is 90 paise per ml. Thus country-made liquor with the highest alcohol content is the cheapest and astonishingly mild beer with the lowest alcohol content is the dearest in the state!
Globally, on per alcohol unit basis' beer is taxed at about half that of hard liquor. Since beer is taxed lower than hard spirits, 50 % of global alcohol consumption is by the way of beer. However, in India relatively much higher tax attracts beer than spirits unlike most parts of the world. According to industry experts in India beer is taxed 60% more than hard liquor on an average.
All India Beverages Association vice-president Sundeep Kumar says, "Our present unfriendly tax structure for beer industry has led to a situation where alcohol consumption is by and large sprits with an average 42% alcohol volume. The beer industry in India suffers from 26 different alcohol-specific taxes. This situation which has bad social ramifications can be changed with greater preferential treatment to beverages with much lower alcohol content such as beer."
He opines that instead of dictating, the government should encourage right behaviour through right policies. Countries like Russia and China in recent times have successfully introduced polices that served to reduce harmful drinks by encouraging beer and wine by making these more affordable and readily available. While the concentration of alcohol in hard spirit is around 40-45%, in wine it is 13%, with beer being the lowest, ranges from 4-7.5%. Even in Haryana recently, beer were allowed to sell in country-made liquor outlets to give a choice to the people," said Sandeep.
Besides, the beer segment can contribute immensely to agriculture sector especially in Rajasthan. Beer is made exclusively from barely and Rajasthan is a major barely-growing state with nearly three lakh farmers owe their livelihood to this crop. Rajasthan accounts for about 30% of high quality (malt) barley produced in the country.
Marginal barley farmers particularly stand to benefit from the growth of this sector. Moreover, the income and job multiplier of beer industry are also extremely high. “By promoting beer, a low alcohol content product and discouraging country liquor and hard liquor, the state can curb the harmful consumption of alcohol in the state,” say experts. Beer consumption accounts for about 10% of the alcohol consumed in Rajasthan. The tax on beer is more than twice that on Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and almost four times that on country-made liquor on per alcohol unit basis.
Taxes on per alcohol unit on country liquor in Rajasthan is the lowest with 15 paise per milli litre (ml) while for IMFL is 30 per ml for the same quantity. Ironically, strong beer is charged 60 paise per ml while mild beer is 90 paise per ml. Thus country-made liquor with the highest alcohol content is the cheapest and astonishingly mild beer with the lowest alcohol content is the dearest in the state!
Globally, on per alcohol unit basis' beer is taxed at about half that of hard liquor. Since beer is taxed lower than hard spirits, 50 % of global alcohol consumption is by the way of beer. However, in India relatively much higher tax attracts beer than spirits unlike most parts of the world. According to industry experts in India beer is taxed 60% more than hard liquor on an average.
All India Beverages Association vice-president Sundeep Kumar says, "Our present unfriendly tax structure for beer industry has led to a situation where alcohol consumption is by and large sprits with an average 42% alcohol volume. The beer industry in India suffers from 26 different alcohol-specific taxes. This situation which has bad social ramifications can be changed with greater preferential treatment to beverages with much lower alcohol content such as beer."
He opines that instead of dictating, the government should encourage right behaviour through right policies. Countries like Russia and China in recent times have successfully introduced polices that served to reduce harmful drinks by encouraging beer and wine by making these more affordable and readily available. While the concentration of alcohol in hard spirit is around 40-45%, in wine it is 13%, with beer being the lowest, ranges from 4-7.5%. Even in Haryana recently, beer were allowed to sell in country-made liquor outlets to give a choice to the people," said Sandeep.
Besides, the beer segment can contribute immensely to agriculture sector especially in Rajasthan. Beer is made exclusively from barely and Rajasthan is a major barely-growing state with nearly three lakh farmers owe their livelihood to this crop. Rajasthan accounts for about 30% of high quality (malt) barley produced in the country.
From the times of india