Despite price drop, only 3 of 25 liquor vends go in Chandigarh

Chandigarh, April 18

Even after reducing the reserve price by up to 25 per cent, the UT Excise and Taxation Department received only three bids during the seventh auction held today for the allotment of the remaining 25 liquor vends. With today’s auction, of the 95 liquor vends, 73 have been sold so far and 22 remain unsold.

Reasons behind poor show

Advocate Sachit Jaiswal, who deals in excise and taxation matters, said higher licence fee in UT, impact of Punjab Excise Renewal Policy, no deduction in liquor quota, no reduction in VAT and excise duty were some of the factors responsible for poor response to auctions.

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Three liquor vends auctioned today were at Sector 40-D, Sector 18 and Sector 26. The liquor vend in Sector 40-D went for Rs 7,21,51,036 against the reserve price of Rs 7,21,26,183, Sector 18 liquor went for Rs 3.18 crore against the reserve price of Rs 3.17 crore, while the liquor vend in Sector 26 went for Rs 4 crore against the reserve price of Rs 3.98 crore.

In the sixth auction held on April 11, the department did not receive even a single bid despite slashing the reserve price by 20 per cent. The department had managed to sell only four of the remaining 29 liquor vends in its fifth auction held on April 6.

During the fourth auction on March 31, seven liquor vends were auctioned out of 36. In the four auctions held on March 15, 21, 27 and 31, the department managed to sell only 66 vends. In the first auction held on March 15, only 43 of the 95 liquor vends went under the hammer.

Last year, the department had held seven auctions, yet three of the 96 vends had gone unsold.

Advocate Sachit Jaiswal, who deals in excise and taxation matters, said higher licence fee in UT, impact of Punjab Excise Renewal Policy, no deduction in liquor quota, no reduction in VAT and excise duty were some of the factors responsible for poor show.

As there was negligible VAT and excise duty in Punjab, most of the liquor contractors shifted base to the neighbouring state, said a liquor contractor, adding that liquor contractors suffered huge losses last year due to the Punjab Excise Policy.

An official of the department said they would have to further reduce the reserve price for the remaining 22 vends in eighth auction. The auctions would continue till all liquor vends were sold.

For financial year 2023-24, the department has fixed a target of Rs 830 crore for liquor vends’ licence fee. So far, the department has collected Rs 354.95 crore from 73 allotted liquor vends.