Chandigarh faces loss from its unsold liquor vends

There has been a loss of Rs. 150 crore for Chandigarh's excise and revenue department this year due to no buyer of18 liquor vends even after 18 rounds of auctions in the UT.

Moreover, to make up for the loss, the department has suggested raising the liquor quota of current vends, which will each receive an additional 5,000 cases. The current allotment for each vend is 18 lakh cases annually.

The proposal has made the liquor contractors unhappy, though, as already the UT penalises contractors for unlifted liquor cartons under the current regulation.

If the alcohol isn't sold, there is a penalty of Rs.900 per case for Indian-made foreign liquor and Rs. 3,500 per case for foreign spirits in Chandigarh. Out of its target of Rs. 830 crore, the excise and revenue department of Chandigarh has so far received only about Rs. 500 crore in licence fees.

It has to be noted that Punjab charges a much less value-added tax (VAT) than Chandigarh. Because Chandigarh's VAT is 12.5 percent instead of Punjab's 1 percent of the ex-distillery price or EDP, more individuals choose to purchase alcohol from the adjacent cities than from Chandigarh, which causes losses for the city's contractors.