(Bloomberg) -- Qatar slashed alcohol prices after slapping on a “sin tax” over the New Year that initially almost doubled the price of a 24-pack of Heineken.
The country's sole liquor store is now offering brews for about $64 a case, a drop of some 30% that's sure to placate fleeced locals and soccer fans already fretting about alcohol costs when attending the 2022 World Cup.
Read: Beer Ban at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar Is Not a Done Deal
Like most other countries in the oil-rich Persian Gulf, Qatar restricts alcohol sales to non-Muslim foreigners. Expats need permission from their employers to get a license that allows them access to the store that sells liquor and pork, located on the outskirts of Doha near the country's main graveyard and church complex.
The liquor store, officially called Qatar Distribution Co., released a price list to its customers that showed cuts across the board. It no longer itemized the 100% tax that sparked the increases earlier this year.
To contact the reporter on this story: Mohammed Aly Sergie in Dubai at msergie@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nayla Razzouk at nrazzouk2@bloomberg.net, Paul Abelsky
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