Palsora liquor vend goes for Rs 14 cr

A liquor vend at Palsora village bordering Mohali has received the highest bid of Rs 14 crore at the first e-auction of the Excise Policy 2025-26 today.

The UT Excise and Taxation Department had received a total of 228 bids online for 96 liquor vends out of a total 97 with a reserve price of Rs 439.29 crore.

The department has collected a total of Rs 606.43 crore, which includes licence fee and Rs 4.56 crore participation fee. The total amount was 36% more than the reserve price.

The highest bid of Rs 14 crore was received for the liquor vend at Palsora village against a reserve price of Rs 10.22 crore. The only liquor vend in Sector 20 remained unsold this year.

In the first round of e-tendering under the Excise Policy 2024-25, only 50 licensing units were sold.

According to officials, the changes made in the policy — allowing bars to procure liquor from retail vends, permitting inter-vend stock transfers within the same entity and rationalisation of liquor quota — led to a good response to auction. All bidders submitted their bids online and no manual bids were accepted. The Excise Policy attempts to curb cartelisation and monopolies by restricting allotment to a single person/entity/company/firm up to a maximum of 10 licensing units only.

Stating that the policy has proven to be highly successful, as reflected in the fact that all liquor vends were smoothly auctioned, Ajay Jagga, Excise and Taxation advocate and member of the Administrator’s Advisory Council, said: “This not only demonstrates the transparency and efficiency of the policy but also the confidence of stakeholders in the system. The positive response to the auction is a clear indication that the policy has created a fair and competitive environment, ensuring optimum revenue for the government while maintaining strict regulatory control.”

Local liquor vend contractors have alleged that most of the vends were awarded to a firm from Madhya Pradesh.

Darshan Singh Kler, president, Chandigarh Wine Contract Association, alleged that the tender process was not followed properly in the auction held today. “According to the Excise Policy, there is a provision for a single company to take 10 contracts in the auction. But this time, it did not happen. Instead of giving contracts to different contractors in the auction, these were awarded to a single company of Madhya Pradesh,” he said.

Kler lodged a complaint with officials of the Excise Department. He said giving contracts to a single firm would not only lead to monopoly but liquor will also become expensive.

Refuting the allegations, officials concerned stated that the Excise Policy specifically says a single person, entity, company or firm can be allotted a maximum of 10 licensing units. "The objective is to curb cartelisation and monopolies, ensuring a level-playing field while also boosting the state's revenue," an official said.