E-Paper
41% jump in Punjab’s excise revenue in 2022-23, says FM Cheema
Attributes record growth to new excise policy. This is the same policy which the AAP had introduced in Delhi in 2021 but was scuttled by the lieutenant governor VK Saxena
Punjab finance and excise and taxation minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Thursday said that the excise department has registered a historic ₹2,587 crore increase in revenue during the financial year 2022-23 as compared to the 2021-22 financial year. Cheema said the department collected revenue of ₹8,841.4 crore from the sale of liquor during 2022-2023 against revenue of ₹6,254.74 crore during the 2021-22 financial year, reporting an increase of 41.41%.
During the previous regimes, the excise collections registered less growth in revenue and the state even witnessed negative growth in the excise collections at times, he said at a press conference here, dedicating the record growth of 41.41% to the new excise policy.
This is the same policy which the AAP had introduced in Delhi in 2021 but was scuttled by the lieutenant governor VK Saxena. After storming to power in Punjab last year, the AAP government had implemented the same policy.
He said the year 2020-21 saw an increase of 23.7% over the previous year with a figure of ₹6,335 crore, but there was negative growth of -0.7% in 2019-20 with the collection of ₹5,117 crore, a 0.33% increase was witnessed in 2018-19 with the collection of ₹5155.86 crore, with 16.6% increase in 2017-18 with a collection of ₹5,139 crore. A negative -8.15% growth was witnessed in 2016-17 with a collection of ₹4,406 crore with respect to the previous years.
Cheema said the excise department has also completed the allotment of Retail Liquor Vends for the financial year 2023-24. “The process of allotment of 171 excise groups was started on March 11, 2023, and has been completed on March 31,” said the finance minister, while adding that the department has surpassed the set target of discovered license fee of ₹7,989 crore and has achieved the discovered license fee amount ₹8,007.45 crore for the fiscal year 2023-24. “The excise department has set the total revenue collection target of ₹9,754 crore for the year 2023-24 and I am confident that the department will touch ₹10,000-crore figure,” he said.
Replying to a media query regarding enforcement activities, Cheema said that an effective enforcement drive is continuously being carried out by the excise department with the use of technology and proper coordination with civil and police authorities. He said that drone technology is also being used to capture real-time images of inaccessible locations where illicit brewing is being done, besides using hand-held monitors for checking the strength of confiscated/seized liquor. “Under the aegis of the Track and Trace project, the Excise QR Code Label Verification Citizen App has also been launched in the state of Punjab to ensure that no in-genuine/counterfeit/non-duty paid liquor was sold in Punjab. This mobile app is functioning in all Android phones as well as iOS-operated mobile phones”, the minister added.
In response to a query regarding a check on distilleries, Cheema said that mass flow meters have been installed to check the production of liquor in the manufacturing units. He said that a very robust IT infrastructure and online remote monitoring system have been installed to keep a vigil on the production and flow of liquor from distilleries. “The new excise policy also strives to keep a stringent check over smuggling of liquor from the neighbouring states through extensive enforcement and by incorporating new technological measures,” he said. Vikas Pratap, finance commissioner (taxation) and Varun Roojam, commissioner excise were also present.