The foreign wine lobby in Mumbai is yet another foreign lobby, trying to persuade the state's policymakers to reduce tariffs.
“We hope the tariff structure will change, or it will become very difficult for us to succeed here,” said Paulo Amorim, President of Wine and Spirits Association of Portugal.
However, it is hardly a new battle.
Last July, India waived customs duties on foreign wines but increased basic import duties from 100 to 150 per cent to block imports.
Maharashtra, the largest wine market increased its very own excise duty to 200 per cent, the highest nationwide.
If dealer margins, 20 per cent VAT and the city specific Octoroi at 7.5 per cent are added to that, then the price of a bottle of foreign wine shoots up by 370- 470 per cent.
The local wine producers, however, pay no such duties but the VAT. No wonder, they control the market.
Foreign wine consumption is just nine per cent of the total 1.8 million wine cases’ annual sales.
Vishal Kadakia, Propreiter of Wine Park Importers, said, "India is the final frontier. The rest of the world is saturated already. So everyone's gaze is on us."
Meanwhile, David Banford, ED of Wine Society of India, said, "High tariffs may make people feel that wine is a millionaire's drink, and then wine as a whole will be shunned."
However, wine doesn't seem to be the priority for the Maharastra's revenue department. The excise officials made it clear that so far the Centre has not given any directions to them to lower duties and they feel it’s too niche a segment to bother about.
So in a state where wine politics is a really big deal, a decently priced Bourdeaux is unlikely, as of now.