State okays home delivery of liquor

Govt losing Rs500 cr excise duty per month

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 4

The Punjab Government will start home delivery of liquor, if needed beyond the official vend opening hours of 9 am to 1 pm. Liquor vends in the state will reopen on May 6.

The instructions issued by the Excise and Taxation Department for reopening of liquor vends across the state mentions that home delivery be allowed for liquor.

Vivek Pratap Singh, Excise and Taxation Commissioner, said the proposal was shared with the Cabinet ministers on Saturday, following which the decision was taken.

This is being done by the cash-strapped state government to ensure that it does not lose excise duty. In April alone, the state government lost Rs 500 crore as excise duty. By allowing home delivery between 1 pm and 6 pm, as announced, the government feels that the liquor sale will get a boost and the licencees will be able to pay their due excise duty. “If liquor is to be home delivered like other goods, it will prevent crowding at the vends,” said the commissioner.

Liquor licencees, however, objected to the move, saying that it would encourage smuggling and illicit sale of liquor. “Since liquor is cheaper in Haryana and Chandigarh, peddlers will smuggle liquor from there and deliver it in the state,” Deep Malhotra, a contractor said.

Many liquor licencees have written to the Chief Minister, urging him not to allow the home delivery of liquor.

Justifying the move, a senior government functionary said, “Since excise revenue is proposed to be earned as minimum guaranteed revenue of Rs 6,250 crore, the government is trying to give the licencees extra hours of sale by allowing home delivery.”

Vivek Pratap Singh said, “We are ordering all liquor vends in the state (around 5,800) to open by Wednesday. The deputy commissioners have been asked to allow vends to be opened as per guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs. When the lockdown was announced, we had given extension to the old licence holders and these contractors had paid 60 per cent of the fee, while the remaining had to be paid in last week of March. Most of the remaining liquor vends had been auctioned, and only some units in Jalandhar, Ferozepur, Moga, besides one or two units in Ludhiana and Amritsar, were left to be allotted. This will be done within a day or two.”

Slash licence fee: Contractors

“We have urged to the CM that liquor licencees be allowed relief in the form of reduced licence fee (by 50 per cent) as marriage palaces and hotels are expected to remain shut till almost September. The time for depositing the remaining licence fee should also be extended,” said Varinder Sharma, a representative of Ludhiana liquor contractors, who were on Sunday told to deposit the licence fee within two days.