Excise collection sluggish, Punjab on toes

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 30

Not just VAT and stamp duty collection, but excise collection  too is slowing down in Punjab, primarily because of the state government’s inability to control illicit liquor trade, even as it has been increasing  liquor quota year after year.

As the state starts the exercise for framing the new liquor policy for 2016-17, it is equally concerned at the slowdown in business and the inability of liquor contractors to pay their remaining licence fee. Almost 90 per cent contractors across the state have not paid the last instalment of licence fee, the deadline for which was December 31. Instead, they have availed the 15-day window to pay the instalment with interest.

Excise officials say that in some areas the contractors have still not paid the fee. 

The recovery of penalties imposed on contractors, especially in Bathinda, Moga, Sangrur and Barnala, for violating excise policy terms, too, has been delayed.

With January 31 being the deadline for the special licence fee at Rs 70 per litre of liquor sold, department officials fear that the number of defaulting contractors may rise, and this would be unprecedented.

The government had set a target of collecting Rs 5,040 crore from liquor sale. It was hoping a 14 per cent increase in its excise collections over the fiscal 2014-15. However, excise collections till October-end showed a growth of just eight per cent — Rs 2,736 crore.  Last year ( 2014-15) too excise collection was  seven per cent less than estimated in the Budget proposals. Against a projection of Rs 4,600 crore, the collections was Rs 4,246.11 crore. 

Excise officials say another reason for the slow recovery was the ban on liquor vends along national highways that had forced the contractors to shift vends to alternative locations. Sources say this year, other than Mohali, Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur, the contractors will be able to use just 60 per cent of the quota allotted to them. 

“The rest will have to be sold at the  wholesale price or will be illegally sold in states where there is prohibition (as in Gujarat),” said a liquor contractor.