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Haryana opts for liquor licence sale by draw of lots

Special Correspondent

Duty on country liquor and Indian Made Foreign Liquor to be reduced

CHANDIGARH: The Haryana Cabinet on Tuesday decided to replace the system of granting retail sale licences of liquor by auction. The licences would be granted on applications and draw of lots, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda told media persons here after the Cabinet meeting.

The retail outlets will be allotted singly to avoid monopolisation and will now be known as Licensed Outlets. Mr. Hooda described the Excise Policy for 2006-07 as "historic'' and said the strategic shift was aimed at bringing more transparency and eliminating monopolistic tendencies that distorted the market and affected revenue.

The lots for allotment of licensed outlets would be drawn in each district in the presence of the respective Deputy Commissioner, Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner (Excise) and other senior officers.

It was decided to reduce the duty on country liquor and Indian Made Foreign Liquor from Rs.13 per proof litre and Rs.43 per proof litre to Rs.5 and Rs.25 per proof litre respectively. The duty included Rs.1 as excise duty and the remainder as permit fee.

The quota for the next financial year has been fixed as 715 lakh proof litres consisting of 495 lakh proof litres for country liquor and 220 lakh proof litres for Indian Made Foreign Spirit (IMFS).

The system of grant of licences on applications and draw of lots would allow small new entrepreneurs to enter the trade and protect the interests of consumers. In case the number of applicants are more than one for the same retail licensed outlet, the draw of lots will be conducted by a committee consisting of Deputy Commissioner, Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner (Excise), Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner (Sales Tax) and Excise and Taxation Officer (Excise) or Assistant Excise and Taxation Officer (Excise) of the respective district, Mr.Hooda added. The retail licensed outlets for country liquor and IMFL have been classified in different categories. There would be eight categories of licensed outlets of country liquor and seven categories of licensed outlets of IMFL.

The rates of licensed outlets will vary from Rs.1 crore to Rs.8.5 lakhs in case of country liquor and Rs.1 crore to Rs. 10 lakhs in case of IMFL. The application forms will be available in the offices of the respective Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioners (Excise) on cash payment of Rs.5,000.

The new policy provides for a maximum of 2,800 country liquor and 1,600 IMFL licensed outlets which would be allotted separately. These two kinds of outlets will not be allowed to be operated from under one roof. As many as 1,200 sub vends will be upgraded to increase the number of 1,600 vends to 2,800. The policy of opening sub-vends will be discontinued.

Mr. Hooda said the State anticipated collection of revenue of Rs.1,200 crores during 2006-07 as against Rs.1,062 crores to be collected during 2005-06, which was about 14 per cent more than the current year.

Budget session

Meanwhile, the Cabinet decided to convene the Budget session of the Vidhan Sabha from March 17. It also decided to set up a State Academy of Research and Training by upgrading the Haryana PWD Research Laboratory at Hisar to cope with emerging trends in the field of construction technology and quality assurance techniques.

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