Excise Division Uncaps Beer Rates In Punjab

Accompanying their disappointment to control liquor rates during the last financial, the Punjab Excise and Taxation Department has rolled back its verdict to restrict the maximum rate of beer. The cost of beer will now be determined by the liquor suppliers. The verdict will assist the administration make extra income that was otherwise bagged by the liquor mafia.

Sources added that liquor followers in Punjab drink more than 7.5 crore bottles of beer annually that means that Punjab sells about 5 crore bulk litres of beer each year. But, the Excise Department, for the first time, had set the highest rate of beer in Punjab in past year’s plan. The state administration could not impose any check on liquor vends where beer was sold at a much higher price as compared to the fixed cost of Rs 70 for light and Rs 75 for strong beer all through the year.

“Generally, the vend possessors sold beer for Rs 120 in connivance with the local inspectors and some senior officials in the excise wing,” said a senior official in the section.

“We suffered a projected loss of approximately Rs 100 crore due to this,” he also said.

Punjab Excise and Taxation Commissioner Anurag Verma stated that this fiscal, they had heightened the access charge from Rs 25 per bulk litre to Rs 50 per bulk litre.

Rising liquor revenue

2009-10: Rs 2100 crore

2010-11: Rs 2370 crore

2011-12: Rs 2750 crore

2012-13: Rs 3400 crore