Prices of liquor would go up in Sikkim by Rs 3 to 5 per bottle in the case of beer and by five to 10 per cent in other categories of alcohol with the state government deciding to increase excise duty from June 17.

Neighbouring Bengal had recently jacked up liquor prices by 30 per cent and Delhi by as much as 70 per cent.

“The distilleries have been informed about the increase in excise duty under different categories. They will now fix the MRP of different categories of drinks on the basis of the new excise duty. The actual increase will be in the region of Rs 3 to Rs 5 for per bottle of beer and between five and 10 per cent in all other category of drinks,” Tshering Namgyal Bhutia, the secretary of the Sikkim excise department, told The Telegraph.

Bhutia said the state had suffered a loss of Rs 17 crore in April and May this year as compared to the corresponding period last year because of closure of wine shops during the initial period of the lockdown and the subsequent fall in demand. Tourists consume almost 65 per cent of liquor sold in Sikkim and their non-arrival during the lockdown brought down the demand.

The government had collected Rs 204 crore as excise duty from the sale of liquor in the 2019-2020 fiscal.

The excise department has also warned against overcharging before the new rates come into effect from June 17.

“Since there are large amount of old stocks bottled and labelled under the old rates of excise duty, all the consumers are advised to buy strictly as per the MRP written on the liquor bottles,” said a notification issued here.

The notice also directed its field-level staff to carry out surveillance to prevent overcharging and to check stocks at foreign liquor (FL) shops. “The FL vendors are directed to maintain strict inventory of old and new stocks of FL shops, and if found overcharging on old stocks, their licenses will be seized,” it warned.