Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh government is likely to introduce a new corona tax on liquor in the state. After an announcement by the Delhi government, the UP government may bring the proposal in the next Cabinet meeting to generate revenue during the corona pandemic. The state government has also indicated a hike in VAT or prices of fuel up to Rs 10 per litre.

 

In the wake of the corona havoc, state government corpus has receded, and revenue collection has shrunk during the last two months. The UP government has had to face a financial crisis and the government is making various efforts to raise funds.

 

Meanwhile, Lockdown-3 has set out in the country, and liquor shops have opened.  Now the state government, to raise revenue, will put extra financial burden on the tipplers. The government may increase the price of liquor by 150%. Delhi having imposed a new corona tax on Monday has cleared the way for the UP government to hike liquor prices. The UP government may also hike VAT or prices up to Rs 10 rupees of fuel to make up for revenue losses.

 

The state finance and parliamentary affairs minister Suresh Kumar Khanna said the government will increase taxes and cess in different categories as huge losses have been incurred during the corona pandemic. Amidst the corona lockdown, the UP government is tackling financial crunch and the state government is taking several steps to emerge from the crisis.

 

There are 26,000 liquor shops owned privately in the state and the government has permitted the functioning of liquor shops in all three zones according to Central government guidelines. The government is looking at the possibility of obtaining revenue of Rs 100 crore only after opening liquor shops on Monday.