Indian brewers: Lowering beer tax would do ‘immense good to society’

10-Feb-2016 - Last updated on 10-Feb-2016 at 04:23 GMT

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Over 90% of all alcohol consumed in India is in the spirits category, according to a survey by the All India Brewers Association which also found beer languishing at 7% and wine hardly even registering.

The AIBA’s white paper suggested that the high taxes imposed on alcohol are leading Indians to seek out varieties of liquor with more alcoholic kick.

"For Rs100, a consumer can buy 180ml of local whiskey, which works out to about Rs1.3 per ml of alcohol,” it said. “The same amount will buy a 650ml bottle of strong beer, but because of the lower alcohol levels, consumers pay over twice as much per ml. Therefore, beer taxation is indiscriminate and does not depict value to the consumer forcing people to opt for hard liquor.”

Calling for a change to the way beer is taxed, the AIBA said the resulting lower prices would “wean people away from hard liquor”.

“This will therefore do immense good to society at large if beer is delinked from hard liquor in terms of perception, taxation, availability and distribution," it said.

Indian liquor consumers pay some five to six times the manufacturing cost due to tax, making locally produced beer among the most expensive in the world, in relative terms, the report added.