NEWS
INDIAN WINE MAKERS CALLED FOR UNIFORM WINE TAX ACROSS THE COUNTRY
By Susan Lewis
20-5-2024
Credit: Kelsey Knight/Unsplash
The All India Wine Producers’ Association (AIWPA) has called on India’s federal government to implement a uniform taxation system for the wine industry across all states in the country.
Jagdish Holkar, president of AIWPA, said: “The high intra-state duties, up to 100 percent of the maximum retail price, make it challenging for the wineries of one state to sell their products in another state.”
In India, each state has its own tax structure related to wine sales. Not only do the states have their own sales tax and excise duties on wines, there are also intra-state duties when wines are transported from other states, some are as high as 100 percent.
“This complex and varied taxation system across states has a negative impact on wineries, especially on smaller ones. It makes it harder for them to expand their market reach and sell wine in different regions of the country,”said Rajesh Jadhav, owner of Rajdheer Wines.
“It is difficult for smaller wineries to sell wine in other states. We want Union government to introduce a uniform tax system for wine across all states in the country,” he said.
As a matter of fact, India’s outdated and complicated liquor tax schemes and regulations have invited criticisms from producers big or small.
Back in 2022, Diageo India’s CEO, Hina Nagarajan, even engaged the vigorous action of a sales strike in order to lobby for inclusion of liquor in the national unified goods and service tax scheme as well as for a mechanism to allow liquor retail price to rise with inflation.
“In the short term there will be some impact on market share,” she said in an interview to explain why she resorted to the strong action.
“If we look at the longer term perspective, I think it is the right thing to do for the business and I think our investors, stakeholders, recognize that.”
(the writer can be contacted at: info@thewinechronicle.com)
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