E-Paper
Chandigarh: Only 11 of 52 liquor vends auctioned in second round
The Chandigarh excise and taxation department had organised the second auction after it could find takers for only 43 of the total 95 vends in the city in the first round that was held earlier this month
In yet another jolt to the UT excise and taxation department, it managed to sell only 11 of the 52 remaining liquor vends in the second round of auction that took place on Tuesday.
The department had organised the second auction after it could find takers for only 43 of the total 95 vends in the city in the first round that was held earlier this month.
From the auction of the 43 vends, that had a reserve price of ₹202 crore in all, the UT excise and taxation department had earned only ₹221 crore.
Similarly, from Tuesday’s auction, it earned a revenue of ₹54.85 crore against the reserve price of ₹51.27 crore.
A senior official from the department said auctions will continue till all vends were sold.
Of the 11 vends auctioned, the one in Khuda Lahora received the highest bid of ₹7,56,90,000, only ₹5,000 more than the reserve price of ₹7,56,85,329.
A vend in Sector 37-D fetched the second highest bid of ₹7.37 crore against the reserve price of ₹6.20 crore.
A liquor vend in Sector 20, offered with a reserve price of ₹2.32 crore, went for ₹2.45 crore.
Darshan Singh Kler, owner of Kler Wines, who bought six liquor vends in the previous auction, said, “There is only 1% excise duty and VAT on liquor in Punjab, whereas in Chandigarh, the minimum excise duty is ₹445 to ₹2,500 per case on Indian-made foreign liquor. This is discouraging liquor contractors from investing in Chandigarh.”
Another liquor contractor, not wishing to be named, said as liquor rates were same across the tricity since 2022, both vendors and customers were giving Chandigarh liquor vends a miss.
