Excise Policy: Old wine in a new bottle
There will be no change in the liquor prices in the city with the Excise and Taxation Department not increasing the ex-distillery price in the Excise Policy 2025-26, which was rolled out today.
For the 2025-26 fiscal, a total of 97 licensing units will be auctioned by the Excise Department and each of these will permit only one retail vend of liquor only. The total reserve price of all 97 retail vends has been fixed at Rs 443.56 crore, which is Rs 8.78 crore less compared to the current fiscal.
The policy will be applicable from April 1 and remain in force till March 31, 2026. There liquor rates will remain the same as the administration has not made any change to the Ex-Distillery Price (EDP). The bidding process for the auction of liquor vends will start on March 13.
The reserve price of the liquor vend at Palsora village neighbouring Mohali has been fixed at Rs 10.22 crore and that of Dhanas at Rs 8.71 crore. The Khuda Lahora vend has the reserve price of Rs 7.56 crore.
Way off the target of nearly Rs 1,000 crore in the current financial year, the department is able to generate nearly Rs 743 crore. As many as 12 vends remained unsold. Sources said the department had set a revenue target of Rs 800 crore for the next financial year.
The quota of the Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) has been kept the same as last year and that of country liquor and imported foreign liquor (BIO) marginally increased due to high demand. The quota of the country liquor and the imported foreign liquor has been rationalises keeping in view the consumption as per area. Inter vend transfer of stock has been allowed between two vends registering under a single person/entity/company/firm against a reasonable stock transfer fee.
Taking a tough stance, the department has decided to impose penalty for non-maintenance of minimum rates with closure of retail vend for three days for each violation. In case of multiple violations adjudicated against a licensee, the licence would not be renewed.
“There is a steep hike in annual licence fee of hotels of about 20% and a marginal hike in duties. There is no reduction in Excise Duty or Assessment fee especially on wine and beer which was requested to encourage ‘mild’ drinking,” said Ankit Gupta, president of Chandigarh Hospitality Association and vice-president of Hotel and Restaurant Association of Northern India.
“This policy is just like ‘old wine in a new bottle’. There is no major relief in VAT and Excise Duty as compared to Punjab. It will be difficult for the liquor contractors to attract customers, as the administration has not considered any suggestions made by them,” Sachit Jaiswal, Advocate, Excise and Taxation.
Working hours for liquor vends are from 9 am to 12 midnight. The quota has also been increased for IFL and country liquor as compared to the previous year.
Key takeaways
To check inter-state smuggling of liquor, a track-and-trace system has been made mandatory to prevent illegal liquor sales and ensure proper tracking of inventory.
The department has also allowed bar licensees to procure their supplies of all types of liquor from the retail sale vends of UT after payment of requisite excise levies.
Every vehicle used for export/import of liquor consignment must be equipped with the GPS system.
It will be mandatory for all retail sale liquor vends to issue computerised bills.
To promote digital payments, the arrangement of online deposit of excise revenue has been started and the payment of all amounts will be made through electronic payment platform.
The cow cess will be levied at Rs 0.50 per bottle of 750 ml of country liquor, Rs 0.50 per bottle of 650ml of beer and Re 1 per bottle of 750 ml/ 700ml of whisky.
It will be mandatory for all retail sale liquor vends to install CCTV cameras at their vends with 30-day backup.
If any licensee is found selling expired liquor, he shall attract a penalty of Rs 75,000 for first violation, Rs 1 lakh for second and Rs 1.25 lakh for each subsequent violation.
The registration of banquet halls/marriage palaces except MC Community Centres for serving of liquor will be mandatory. The licence fee has been fixed at Rs 1 lakh.
The bar timings will be 11 am to 1 am except on dry days and the last order for liquor will not be booked after midnight. However, these timings can be further extended by 2 hours past midnight with last order not being booked beyond 2 am on payment of additional annual fee of Rs 8 lakh.
