Excise Department notice to Kala Amb distillery
Ambika Sharma
Tribune News Service
Solan, June 16
Officials of the Excise and Taxation Department (ETD) today issued a notice to Kala Amb Distillery and Brewery situated at Bhangla in Nalagarh subdivision, in a case involving seizure of 992 cases of unlabelled illegal liquor by the police on June 3 at Nalagarh.
Confirming the development, Additional Commissioner, Excise and Taxation Department, DC Negi said action as per the law would be taken against the manufacturing unit as it was a serious issue where liquor worth lakhs of rupees was seized by the police.
He said an opportunity would be given to the unit management to explain their stand and its licence would be cancelled if the irregularities were found to be serious. Issues like imposing a penalty for loss of revenue caused to the state exchequer for indulging in illegal manufacturing and sale of liquor were also being worked out.
He confirmed that a report had already been received from the Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Baddi, in this matter.
When quizzed about the ETD inspector’s failure to check malpractices in the liquor distillery, Negi said a separate report about the role of the said inspector was being sought and consequent to its findings due action as per the conduct rules would be taken against him. A report from the Superintendent of Police, Baddi, had already been received, he added.
It has taken two weeks for senior officials to issue a notice to the erring unit while action was yet awaited against their inspector whose job was to specifically look after liquor operations of the unit only.
The police were yet to establish whether the liquor seized by its Special Investigating Unit was manufactured in the distillery and were awaiting a report of the Forensic Science Laboratory, said DSP Khajana Ram.
The seizure of unlabelled liquor which was being illegally transported to other states on fake documents has put a question mark over the working of the department, which has not initiated action against the erring official as yet.
