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Chandigarh loss is Mohali’s gain:All 299 booze vends sold in one go
While Chandigarh’s liquor vends are still awaiting takers three days before FY 2024-25 kicks in, Mohali’s excise dept is toasting to success with 12.5% higher revenue pour
Even as the Chandigarh administration is struggling to find takers for its liquor vends in the face of fast-approaching 2024-25 fiscal, the Mohali excise department on Thursday achieved a remarkable feat by auctioning off all 299 vends in the district in one go, raking in a whopping ₹528.52 crore.
Despite two rounds of auctions in March, the Chandigarh excise and taxation department has been able to allot only 60 of the total 97 vends under its 2024-25 Excise Policy.
On the contrary, their Mohali counterparts not only sold all 299 liquor vends in the first draw of lots itself, but also recorded an impressive 12.5% surge in revenue compared to the ₹469 crore earned in fiscal 2023-24.
Higher VAT, excise duty blamed for UT’s poor show
Darshan Singh Kler, president of the Wine Contractors’ Association, said the Chandigarh administration had failed to allot all vends despite two rounds of auction due to the higher excise duty and VAT.
“While Punjab imposes a 1% VAT on the ex-distillery price (EDP), Chandigarh levies a 12.5% VAT. Also, a liquor contractor pays ₹450 to ₹3,500 per liquor case as excise duty in Chandigarh, compared to only 1% duty in Punjab,” he explained.
“Last year, I had seven liquor vends in Chandigarh. But this time, I bought just one in Chandigarh and picked two in Punjab due to the huge difference in taxes. Also, in Punjab, liquor vends are allotted through the draw-of-lots system, compared to auctions in Chandigarh, where vends go to the highest bidder,” said Kler.
Meanwhile, an excise officer in Mohali said while UT stuck to its old model, Punjab slashed the prices due to which Punjab-based contractors returned to their home state instead of investing in Chandigarh.
“Earlier the liquor price in Chandigarh used to be much lower than Punjab, attracting consumers from across the tricity. But now, with Punjab having reduced the taxes and liquor rates, people in Mohali don’t travel to Chandigarh anymore. In fact, the commute to Chandigarh is costlier than the negligible difference in liquor prices,” the officer said.
₹75,000 charged per application
Notably, the Mohali excise department also earned ₹74.40 crore from a total of 9,920 applications for just 299 vends, charging ₹75,000 per application.
Divulging details, Mohali assistant commissioner excise department Ashok Chalhotra said as part of draw of lots, the Mohali district was divided into 14 groups for allotment of L-2 and L-14 A vends for fiscal 2024-25.
Out of the total 14 groups, four groups relate to the Mohali MC area, while 10 others cover urban areas. Mohali city was divided into four groups including Mohali-1, Mohali-2, Mohali-3 and Mohali-4; Kharar into three groups, Zirakpur into two, besides one each in Kurali, New Chandigarh, Banur, Dera Bassi and Lalru.
Chalhotra said the fee of ₹74.40 crore collected from applicants in Mohali accounted for 30% share towards the state revenue from applications for allotment of liquor vends.
He said the department received a total of 2,206 applications for Mohali group, 2,055 for Zirakpur group, 1,943 for Kharar group, 995 for Dera Bassi group, 737 for Banur group, 728 for Kurali group, 703 for New Chandigarh and 553 for Lalru group.
Moreover, other than the annual licence fee, the allottees will also have to pay an additional 15% as security that will translate into ₹79.27 crore. Out of this, these groups paid a total of ₹16.95 crore on Thursday itself. They will have to pay 3% more within 48 hours, 6% by March 31 and the remaining by the end of April.
The draw of lots was conducted at Rai Farms on Kharar-Landran road in the presence of additional deputy commissioner (Rural Development) Sonam Chaudhary; Udeydeep Singh Sidhu, deputy commissioner, Excise, Patiala; Ramandeep Dhaliwal, deputy commissioner, State Taxes, and a large number of applicants.
