The Commerce Ministry has recommended a restriction on the purchase of tax-free alcohol at duty-free shops to one bottle, according to reports. The measure has reportedly been recommended with an eye to reducing the import of non-essential goods into the country. The current limit is 2 litres of alcohol at such shops.
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The recommendations also include the prohibition of the purchase of cigarette cartons at these shops. These recommendations are reportedly part of proposals made by the Commerce Ministry for the upcoming budget which is set to be unveiled on the 1st of February bu Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
People on social media were not too pleased with the reports and took to Twitter to voice their disenchantment.
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However, as it turns out, the recommendations made by the Commerce Ministry are not entirely radical or in contravention of existing global norms. For instance, the United States of America permits individuals to bring one litre of alcohol into the country duty-free. The limit goes up to five litres if the alcohol is brought from U.S. insular possession such as the U.S. Virgin Islands or Samoa.
As of 2017, countries like Japan, Thailand and Singapore have such restrictions as well. Japan restricts it to three bottles of 760 ml each while Thailand limits it to one litre. Singapore has the same limit as Thailand. China has it at 1.5 litres while Australia limits it at 2.25 litre and Cambodia at 2 litres. Macau and Taiwan have it at 1 litre. Thus, India should it decide to limit the purchase of alcohol at duty-free shops to 1 litre will not be as drastic or radical as some Indians are believing it to be.
When it comes to restrictions on cigarettes and tobacco, India has the limit at 100 cigarettes and 25 cigars or 125 gm of tobacco per passenger. This is, again, not radically different from other countries as can be seen from the table which shows data from 2017. Australia limits the number of cigarettes and cigars to 25 and equal to 25 gm respectively, the same for Hong Kong is 19 and 1. Singapore has it at 0. However, admittedly, the other countries have set the bar much higher at either 200 cigarettes and a couple at even 400.
Thus, if India decides to bring the limits down a notch, it will neither be without precedent nor it would something drastic as most would like to believe. However, it is imperative that the Finance Minister ensures these are not part of the budget’s core plans to boost economic growth. By default, these measures cannot be the go-to method for economic revival. It can be said with a relative amount of certainty that when the budget is declared, restriction on duty-free tobacco and alcohol will not be the first thing that people will look out for on the 1st of February.
Union Minister of Railways, who announced the interim budget in 2019, confirming the recommendations, told TOI, “It’s not a question of large or small (quantities). Even under GST, while alcohol is not included, tobacco is a sin good. As a nation, we are not encouraging the import of alcohol.” “All that we have done is highlighted that these are global best practices. I am not sure if India can afford to be so liberal, particularly when it relates to liquor and cigarettes,” he added.