Rs.1 lakh penalty for liquor overpricing in Uttarakhand, says excise minister
Overpricing of liquor by booze shops would soon attract a penalty of Rs 1 lakh in Uttarakhand, excise minister Prakash Pant said
Overpricing of liquor by booze shops would soon attract a penalty of Rs 1 lakh in Uttarakhand, excise minister Prakash Pant said.
Pant asserted the government would not impose prohibition but evolve such a system where the sale of liquor is controlled, overpricing is dealt with seriously and sale of illegal liquor is ended by taking strict measures.
From now on, he said, a fine of Rs 1 lakh would be slapped on those liquor shop owners found overpricing booze.
A penalty from Rs 10,000 to 20,000 would be imposed if liquor is adulterated with substance that increases intoxication, the minister said. “Those found selling liquor near medicine shops will be fined Rs 20,000. The parties found supplying illicit liquor will have to cough up a penalty 10 times the value of the consignment they are caught with.”
These provisions have got the nod of the Cabinet and soon an ordinance would be brought in this regard, Pant told Hindustan Times.
The minister pointed out that the mobile teams in SUVs were already on the move to check malpractices of liquor shops and to curb adulteration. “We would be procuring 10 more vehicles to give more edge to the team and the process is being finalised.”
The Uttarakhand government has set a revenue target of Rs 2,300 crore from liquor sale in this ongoing fiscal. It has faced criticism in the past for not imposing prohibition.
Liquor has always remained a contentious issue in the state. After Uttarakhand’s creation in 2000, the Nityanand Swami government had made some changes in excise policy but sidelined the demand of a blanket ban.
Successive governments allowed liquor business as it fetches handsome revenue for the cash-strapped state.