Chandigarh Administration implements system to check liquor smuggling

Five months after the introduction of the Excise Policy 2024-25, the UT Excise and Taxation Department has partially implemented the track and trace system to curb interstate smuggling of liquor.

The new excise policy has marked the first attempt by the department to implement a comprehensive track and trace system for monitoring the entire liquor supply chain. This system involves assigning a unique QR code to each liquor bottle at the production stage. Both individual bottles and cases would carry these unique identifiers, enabling stakeholders to verify the source and track the distribution flow by scanning the codes.

An official stated that the system had been made applicable to the new stock and it would take nearly two weeks to fully implement the system.

He emphasised that licensees have been warned that no stock will be allowed to move without adhering to the track and trace system. A mobile application has been developed to verify the authenticity of liquor bottles by scanning their QR codes.

The track-and-trace system begins at the production stage, where each liquor bottle is assigned a unique identification code, a QR code. Both bottle and its packaging will carry these unique identifiers, allowing the source and movement of liquor to be traced accurately.

The smuggling of liquor from Chandigarh, where it is cheaper, to states like Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Gujarat has long been a challenge.