Pinarayi Vijayan slams Kerala govt’s proposed liquor tax relief, seeks rollback
The Opposition leader questioned the proposed tax relief for low-alcohol beverages, alleging it was introduced to benefit liquor companies and should be withdrawn
Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 28 (PTI) Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday urged the UDF government to review its proposed tax relief for low-alcohol beverages, alleging that the move was intended to benefit the private liquor lobby.
In a Facebook post, Vijayan referred to the recent discussion in the Assembly on the budget proposal relating to liquor tax relief and said Chief Minister V D Satheesan had stated that the proposal would be implemented only after discussions within the UDF.
The Left leader alleged that the Finance Bill tabled in the Assembly had already incorporated amendments proposing to reduce the tax on liquor with up to 10 per cent alcohol content to 120 per cent and on liquor with 10-20 per cent alcohol content to 175 per cent by including the category along with horti wine.
Claiming that this was the first time tax relief was being proposed for low-alcohol spirit-based Indian-made foreign liquor in the state, Vijayan said the provision in the Finance Bill itself contradicted the government's denial that it had attempted to extend such a benefit.
He said the Finance Bill, which gives statutory backing to the tax proposals announced in the budget, would become law once passed by the Assembly.
After that, the UDF government would have no legal means to prevent its implementation, and the proposal could not be kept in abeyance through an executive order, he alleged.
Questioning the rationale for holding UDF discussions after incorporating the proposal into the Finance Bill, Vijayan alleged that the move was merely a smokescreen to accommodate the demands of liquor companies.
Further, he alleged that while the CM had consistently defended the budget proposals as reflecting the government's policy and political stance, he had maintained that the liquor tax relief proposal was yet to be discussed within the UDF.
Vijayan said the proposal had drawn strong criticism from the Opposition, the media and religious organisations.
He claimed that concerns expressed by a section of Congress and its allies showed that the tax relief proposal was not a collective decision.
The Opposition leader further alleged that the excise minister (M Liju) had indicated he was unaware of the proposed change in the excise policy, reflecting dissatisfaction within the ruling front over the CM's alleged unilateral intervention in liquor policy while also handling the finance portfolio.
The former CM alleged that, instead of following the established practice of framing budget proposals after consulting the concerned departments, Satheesan had imposed his own preferences on other departments.
Vijayan claimed there had been several instances over the past month in which the CM had taken key decisions without the knowledge of either the ruling front or the Cabinet.
The government should review and withdraw the proposed tax relief for liquor, he added in the Facebook post. PTI