Cheer! Imported liquor has just got cheaper

New Delhi: Cheer! Your favourite foreign brands of whisky, wine or champagne have just become cheaper.

The Union Government on Tuesday scrapped additional customs duty on imported liquor, wine and beer following a complaint by the European Union and the US in the WTO.

Additional duty of customs in lieu of state excise duty on imported liquor, wines and beer has been removed by the Central Board of Excise and Customs, a government spokesperson said.

The additional customs duty imposed by India hitherto ranged between 20-150 per cent. This is over and above the basic customs duty of 150 per cent allowed by the WTO. The multiple duties, in some cases, took the overall tax incidence to up to 550 per cent.

EU and the US dragged India to the WTO disputes settlement body complaining that New Delhi was violating the duties allowed by the multilateral trade body.

The EU had complained to the WTO last year that aggregate duty levied on imported wines and spirits in India ranged from 177.33 per cent to 550 per cent which exceeded WTO bound duty level of 150 per cent.

The WTO had earlier set up a disputes panel on April 24 to investigate the EU’s complaint against Indian duties and taxes on foreign wines and spirits. With the removal of the additional duty, India has not brought its duty in line with WTO-bound 150 per cent.