Speaker writes to govt, seeks action taken report on excise case

Delhi Assembly mandates finance and excise departments to report on liquor supply issues by January 31, 2024, following a PAC audit revealing ₹890 crore losses.

The Delhi Assembly directed the finance and excise departments to furnish an action taken report on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) findings on liquor supply in the Capital by January 31 next year, officials said on Thursday.

A CAG report had flagged losses of ₹890 crore due to the failure to re-tender surrendered liquor shop licences under excise policy 2021-22, an official said. (HT Archive)

It has also directed them to review the department-specific recommendations made by the committee and submit the report indicating the status as on December 31, 2026.

The ‘Second Report of the Committee on Public Accounts on the Report of the Comptroller & Auditor General of India on Performance Audit on Regulation and Supply of Liquor in Delhi’, tabled during the recently concluded Budget Session, had flagged losses of ₹890 crore due to the failure to re-tender surrendered liquor shop licences under excise policy 2021-22. It also pointed to an additional loss of ₹144 crore from a licence fee waiver under it.

The report is based on a CAG audit that had identified multiple irregularities in the monitoring and regulation of liquor supply in the capital, estimating the total financial implication at approximately ₹2,026.91 crore.

Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta flagged systemic failures in the excise framework and called for time bound action on the recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee, said an official.

A formal communication has been issued to the excise minister and the principal secretary (finance) conveying these directions, he added.

Gupta said the PAC has recommended expedited implementation of the e-Abkari portal with a robust track and trace system, strengthened barcode scanning and geo tagging, improved IT infrastructure, stricter scrutiny and quarterly monitoring of licensing, and adoption of a data driven enforcement strategy to ensure transparency, efficiency, and long term sustainability.