'Excise duty on liquor unfairly high'

Liquor manufactuers have said the government decision to increase excise duty on liquors every year has directly affected the country´s liquor industry.
“The liquor industry is in a difficult situation due to the government´s haphazard way of slapping excise duty. Such is the situation that the manufacturers even don´t get excise duty sticker as per their demand,” Ravi KC, president of the Nepal Liquor Manufacturers´ Association (NELMA), said at a press meet organized on Friday.
Highlighting the contribution of liquor industry in revenue collection, KC said that the government should be supportive to make the industry respected and well managed. “The excise duty act, regulation and liquor act along with other laws are not supportive to the liquor industry,” KC said.
According to the association, there are 42 liquor industries and 5 breweries in the country and that the government collected Rs12 billion as revenue from the liquor industry in the previous fiscal year.
Liquor manufactures have urged the government to ban export of molasses from the country. “Molasses is being exported to India at a very low cost, whereas we have to import spirit from India at a high cost,” KC said.