Hike in liquor duty is being considered to create space for reducing fuel price. (Representational)
The Maharashtra government is considering increasing excise duty on Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) to create some fiscal space for slashing tax on petrol and diesel, an official said on Wednesday.
The duty on liquor has not been reviewed since 2013, a senior official of the state excise department said, requesting anonymity.
"The idea is to increase the excise duty on IMFL, especially on the largely consumed mid-segment liquor, so the government would earn more revenue. Then we can reduce taxes on petrol and diesel", he said.
The excise duty on beer was increased in 2017 while that on country and military canteen liquor was hiked in 2015, he said.
Valsa Nair-Singh, Principal Secretary of state excise department, said, "The file (proposal to review duty on IMFL) has not come to me yet. I cannot comment on it."