Chandigarh admin cancels 47 liquor vend allotments

The Chandigarh Excise and Taxation Department reportedly cancelled the allotments of 47 liquor vends on Wednesday after bidders failed to submit mandatory bank guarantees worth ₹40 crore. The move comes just a day after the department sealed the vends for non-compliance.

According to Clause 21 of the Chandigarh Excise Policy, successful bidders are required to furnish bank guarantees amounting to 15 percent of the licence fee within seven working days of the allotment notice. Failure to comply results in automatic cancellation, with forfeiture of earnest money and security deposits.

The 47 vends in question had been allotted on March 21, with operations commencing on April 3. However, following a recommendation to higher authorities, the department has now confirmed the cancellations and plans to re-auction the vends shortly.

A senior official from the excise department stated that 96 of the 97 vends were successfully auctioned in March, generating ₹606 crore in revenue, 36 percent higher than the reserve price of ₹439 crore. This marked a significant turnaround from the previous two years, which saw multiple vends go unsold and revenues fall short of targets.

Meanwhile, the Excise Department has sought intervention from the Income Tax Department and the Enforcement Directorate to investigate the financial backgrounds of the successful bidders, raising fresh questions over the legitimacy of their funding sources.