Liquor shops not issuing invoice to customers

Sumeer Singh

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Tribune News Service

Bathinda, May 6

Notwithstanding High Court orders, a majority of liquor vends in the district are not issuing bills of sale or invoice against purchase to customers.

On April 1, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed the Punjab and Haryana governments to make it obligatory for vends to provide bills for liquor purchase.

With the absence of bill books at different liquor vends allotted recently to contractors, the issue of discrepancies in assessment of taxes has again come to the fore as the Excise Department has failed to ensure issuing of bills to liquor customers.

With no cap on upper limit of liquor prices, contractors are selling liquor on exorbitant rates. In the absence of bills for sale or invoice against the purchase made, actual data of income of a liquor contractor cannot be known.

Rohin Bhat, a customer, said, “Prices of liquor are not similar at different liquor vends in the city. There has to be uniformity in prices. The Excise Department must ensure that invoices are issued to the customers by liquor vend operators so that we are not subjected to fleecing.”

An official of the Excise Department, on condition of anonymity, said in absence of maximum retail price for liquor in Punjab, there was no check on the actual price on which liquor is sold.

Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner (AETC) Ramesh Malhotra said, “We would carry out checks and issue challans to contractors who are not issuing invoices to customers for purchase. We will also establish helpline where customers can register their complaints.”

Punjab and Haryana High Court order

• On April 1, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed the Punjab and Haryana governments to make it obligatory for vends to provide bills for liquor purchase. 
• With the absence of bill books at different liquor vends allotted recently to contractors, the issue of discrepancies in assessment of taxes has again come to the fore as the Excise Department has failed to ensure issuing of bills to liquor customers.