42 liquor vends sealed in Kangra for non-payment of Rs 7.28-crore licence fees

The State Excise Department has sealed 42 liquor shops in Kangra district after the licence holders failed to pay their dues on time. These vends collectively owe around Rs 7.28 crore to the department.

Out of total Rs 7.28 crore, Rs 5.62 crore is pending from 38 liquor shops located in various areas, including Nagrota Bagwan, while another Rs 1.66 crore is due from seven other outlets in other parts of the district.

Assistant Excise Commissioner of Kangra district Ravinder Singh said that the Excise Department had sealed the defaulting shops on Monday and Tuesday after granting them a grace period to clear their dues.

These shops were originally auctioned in March and April this year but no contractor came forward to run these. As such, these were temporarily handed over to the Himachal Pradesh State Forest Development Corporation. In June and July, on the government directions, these shops were re-auctioned and re-allotted to liquor contractors.

“The contractors deposited the 11 per cent licence fee at the time of re-allotment but more than two months later, the non-payment of licence fees became a growing concern for both Excise Department and state government. Therefore, we sealed the defaulting vends,” he added.

The liquor contractors attributed the delay in payments to a slowdown in business caused by heavy rain during the monsoon season, which affected tourism and local trade. They claimed that excessive rainfall led to a steep decline in liquor sales in the region.

However, the Excise Department says that the sealed shops will be reopened only after the receipt of the full payment of the prescribed licence fees and penalty likely to be imposed on them for the non-payment of dues, as per the excise policy. “We will prepare a case file of each liquor vend and send it to the Collector’s office for further action under the excise policy,” said Ravinder.