Liquor and beer prices to rise: Rajasthan issues revised excise policy, contractors to sell more liquor:License renewal fees increased, shop opening times asked to be reconsidered

News Topical, Digital Desk : The Rajasthan government released a new revised excise policy on Wednesday. The excise duty hike will increase the prices of Indian and foreign liquor, as well as beer, by between five and twenty rupees from April 1st.

Under the new policy, contractors will have to sell more liquor than before. License renewal fees for existing contractors have been increased. The Excise Commissioner has been given the authority to reconsider liquor shop opening hours.

Currently, liquor shops are open from 10 am to 8 pm. According to sources, starting April 1st, liquor shops will be open until 10 pm. The Finance Department has also issued a policy that allows shop owners to allocate two warehouses instead of one. Warehouses are meant solely for storing goods.

In the new policy, the government has increased the application fee for obtaining a liquor contract. Previously, the application fee for participating in the auction of shops with a minimum reserve price of up to 2 crore rupees was 50,000 rupees. This has been increased to 60,000 rupees. For shops with a minimum reserve price of more than 2 crore rupees, the application fee has been increased from 1 lakh to 1 lakh 20 thousand rupees.

It is worth noting that the state government had issued a simultaneous excise policy for the previous financial years, 2025 to 2029. However, a revised policy was issued on Wednesday, taking into account the demands of contractors and suggestions from officials of the Finance and Excise Departments.