Mumbai: The food processing ministry favours setting up two committees, or working groups, to help various issues concerning the Indian liquor industry. It has suggested that a separate alcoholic beverage policy be formulated in order to widen the domestic market and explore exports for Indian wines and beers.

One committee would be entrusted with the task of arriving at the correct level of countervailing duty, which would help imports without adversely affecting the domestic industrys interests. The other committee would help evolve a comprehensive alcoholic beverages policy to enable broadening the market.

The idea of setting up the two working committees stemmed from the fact that the current policies governing the liquor industry are too confusing and restrictive in nature, curtailing growth and broad-basing of the liquor market.

The following issues need to be tackled:
1) The effective duty on imported liquor as of now ranges between 246 per cent and 706 per cent, depending on whether the product is liquor, wine or beer. It is felt that the same should be rationalised for achieving greater sales.
2) Brand-building measures and dissemination of information about the industry and its various products are not enough and adequate.
3) Matters like excise, duties, licensing system are all under the control of respective state governments and hence vary widely.
4) Whether excise can be imposed on imports just like it is levied on manufacturing.
5) Some states follow different methods of levying duties on imported liquor and IMFL, which is discriminatory under WTO laws.
6) At present a uniform import duty is levied on all kinds of imported liquor, be it a cheap variety or a premium one. The food processing ministry feels that a differential rate of duty be levied on cheap and the premium variety and also on beer, wine and hard alcohol.
7) Whether and how should a level-playing field be provided to domestic producers. Other issues like import of bulk concentrates, export obligations, review of government policy on promotion of wine and beer, standardisation of labeling requirements and defining alcoholic content in beer.