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Lucknow. A big news is coming out in Uttar Pradesh for liquor consumers and fruits cultivating. The Excise Department of the state is now going to take a new step with the aim of encouraging local fruit wines. Under the scheme, it will be mandatory for retail liquor vendors to keep stock of native wine in their shops. This proposal will soon be presented before the State Cabinet for final approval.

Winery operators and farmers will get promotion

The main objective behind this proposal is to promote wine manufacturing from fruits in the state and increase the income of farmers. Four winery operators located in Lucknow, Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur and Noida are expected to directly benefit from this decision. Also, hundreds of farmers who cultivate fruits in these areas will also benefit from this new system.

Lack of interest in retailers due to lack of excise duty

The state government has not imposed excise duty on ‘Made in UP’ wine, due to which retailers are not getting any financial incentive in selling these products. Generally, the sale of indigenous liquor, English wine and beer receives huge amounts of excise duty, which helps retail sellers to complete MGQ (minimum guarantee quota).

The MGQ is the system in which every retailer has to buy a minimum amount of alcohol to ensure a certain monthly revenue to the Excise Department. But due to no excise duty from local wine, these sellers are unable to achieve MGQ, which reduces their interest in it.

Need for policy amendment, government is preparing

To solve this problem, the state government is planning to amend the existing excise policy. If the local wine is also included in the MGQ or a separate minimum quota is determined for it, it will not only provide the market to the winery operators, but will also directly increase the income of the farmers.