As in previous years, this year too, the government has revised the tax rates on the day after the budget for the next financial year is released. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel submitted to the United Parliament on May 15, in the 'Bill to implement the finance proposal', the previous customs rate of liquor including rum, whiskey and vodka was revised to 100 percent of the value.

Earlier, the customs rate of Rs 2,000 per liter was levied on all types (of value). Calling progressive tax policy, low-priced alcohol and higher-priced alcohol will be taxed more, the government has arranged to levy 100 percent tax based on price instead of liter. But on Friday, the government changed the tax rate on the pretext of a printing error.

After the amendment, 100% customs duty will be levied on liquor priced up to 2,000 rupees per liter and on liquor priced above 2,000 rupees. According to the initial rate, low-priced wines were cheaper and higher-priced wines were more expensive. Businessmen say that now, along with high-priced wines, low-priced wines are not cheap either.

Finance Minister Paudel's Economic Bill submitted to the Joint House on May 15 fixed 100 percent of the customs rate value of all types of 15 UP (with 48.5 percent alcohol content) prepared brandy. But in the economic bill submitted to the House of Representatives on May 16 (Friday), it is stated that '2000 per liter or 100 percent of the price is more'.

According to sources in the Ministry of Finance, after the indigenous alcohol producers met the Finance Minister and asked him to amend the original provision, the provision was amended and submitted to the House.

Director General of Customs Department Mahesh Bhattarai said that an error was found during the printing of the revised tax rate on alcohol, and it was immediately corrected. Regarding alcohol, it was decided to determine the mixed customs duty according to the policy decision to adopt progressive customs duty compared to the previous one. As soon as a typing error was found during the printing of the bill, it was corrected," he said. "There are various options when changing the policy, a 'typing error' was found in it, so it was corrected, no one's intention was bad."

In the past, the same rate (2000 per liter) of customs duty was levied on alcohol of all prices, but now it has been modified and a progressive tax system has been adopted, he said. According to him, the purpose of this is to protect the indigenous industry and collect revenue equal to the foreign exchange spent on alcohol import. "In the past, there was a single rate for alcohol of any price, that is not scientific. Apart from that, we have gone to a progressive tax system. It did not even replace the alcohol our industry was producing. Therefore, liquor up to a certain price was already regulated, which protected our industry. This practice is also in other countries," Bhattarai said. 

Director General Bhattarai says that even if there is a technical error in printing, the government cannot touch it. Vidyadhar Mallik, the secretary of finance and the coordinator of the high-level committee formed for the reform of the tax system formed by the government, said that the government should be sensitive because the tax rates will be revised in this way.

'Tax rate manipulation should be very sensitive. Because there is no excuse that it was corrected because of an error, it increases suspicion among the citizens, and the credibility of the government also decreases,'' he said.

The customs price has been revised according to the rate of alcohol manipulated by the government. According to this, customs duty of Rs 2,000 will be charged on alcohol worth Rs 2,000 or less. Customs duty of 100 percent of the value will be levied on liquor worth more than 2,000. For example, the import price of 1500 will be levied on 2000 customs duty.