New Excise Policy: IMFL To Cost More In Odisha From April

Bhubaneswar: The cost of India Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) will go up in Odisha from April as the state government has increased the application fee for issuing licence for “OFF Shop”.

As per the excise policy for financial year 2023-2024 announced by the government on Thursday, the licence for new IMFL OFF shop in the state will not be issued. But the OFF shops can carry out modernisation of their outlets during the year.

As the Excise department has increased the application fee for new/renewal of ‘OFF shops’ from Rs 1.1 lakh to Rs 1.2 lakh, the cost of IMFL will go up for the consumers. Besides, the minimum guranteed quantity (MGQ) and retailer fee have also been increased in the new excise policy.

Similarly, the annual composite label registration fee for FL OFF shops, FL ON shops for sale of all brands has been fixed at Rs 50,000.

In another restriction, the government has announced that licence for new IMFL “ON Shop” will not be issued for rural areas.

The licence for ON shop for sale of IMFL and bars for its consumption will be issued only in selected hotels in the urban areas across the state. The hotels having prescribed number of rooms can only avail the licence from the Excise Commissioner.