Rajasthan imposes 20% surcharge on liquor for ''cow protection''

Our Correspondent 

Jaipur, June 24

Liquor will cost more in Rajasthan with the state government imposing 20 per cent surcharge for bovine protection.

The state government has notified that surcharge at the rate of 20% shall be levied and collected, on the amount of tax or any sum in lieu of tax payable on the sale of foreign liquor, Indian Made Foreign Liquor, country liquor and beer sold by dealers with effect from June 23, 2018, Secretary Finance (Revenue) Praveen Gupta told The Tribune on Sunday.

As per Section 7A of the Rajasthan Value Added Tax, 2003 (Act No. 4 of 2003), the surcharge would be used for the purpose of cow protection, Gupta said.

Last year, the BJP government had imposed 10 per cent surcharge on stamp duty on all non-judicial instruments for "conservation and propagation of cows". The Finance department has proposed to raise it from 10 per cent to 20 per cent.

It is learnt that the surcharge raise is effected due to Central government's move to slash grant for cattle heads under the disaster relief fund during scarcity, drought or floods situations.   

Meanwhile, state Congress president Sachin Pilot has said the BJP government was purely doing politics in the name of 'cow' in the election year by putting tax burden on public. 

"There was already 10 per cent tax on stamp duty for cow protection. What else is required now? It was just to appease a section and burden taxpayers," he added.