Excise dept summons Kala Amb bottling plant management
The Collector (South) has issued a notice to a Kala Amb-based liquor bottling plant, where the State Taxes and Excise Department had seized on a huge cache of unauthorised stock of liquor on May 5, to explain its position failing which its licence can be cancelled.
“The firm management has failed to respond to the notice as none of its representative appeared either on May 9 or on May 14 following which they have been granted a last chance to appear on May 24,” said Vivek Chauhan, Collector (South), Excise and Taxation.
In another development, Factory Inspector Ankit, who was tasked with ensuring the compliance with the Excise Act with regard to liquor production, storage and distribution at Tilok Sons Brewery and Distillery at Kala Amb was suspended on May 18 for his laxity in performing duty, said Chauhan.
As many as 230 cases of Royal Blue Whiskey meant for sale in Uttarakhand, 2,100 excess cases of country-made liquor, 1,100 excess cases of Indian Made Foreign Liquor and 4,500 bulk litre excess extra neutral alcohol (ENA) were found during a raid by a team of enforcement officials of the Excise Department. The excess ENA could produce unauthorised liquor worth lakhs of rupees. As many as 3.95 lakh lables of dry gin and popular brands like Santara, meant for sale in Uttarakhand, were also found stacked at the unit, hinting towards large scale nefarious manufacturing operations.
The manner in which 20 unauthorised persons were found engaged in manufacturing lent credence to the fact that the plant was being used for nefarious operations and had supplied unauthorised liquor in bulk to traders in Haryana, Uttarakhand and Chandigarh. The plant was sealed after the raid.
The police were also investigating the case after registration of an FIR for cheating, house trespass, theft and criminal conspiracy and under various sections of the HP Excise Act, 2011 on a complaint filed by the excise officials.
Additional SP, Nahan, Yogesh Rolta said five persons involved in the nefarious operations like distribution of liquor to unauthorised traders in various places in Haryana were arrested while the plant owner was on the run.
The officials will also work out levies to be imposed on the unauthorised spirit and bottled liquor found at the spot which have caused loss of revenue to the state exchequer, said an excise official.
