City liquor rates to go up

UTs new Excise Policy brings city liquor prices at par with Mohali

Rajmeet Singh

Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 3

Chandigarh would no longer be a boozers heaven, as in the UTs new Excise Policy (2012-2013), the liquor prices in the city will be at par with the prices in Mohali. In a monopolistic-oriented policy that is bound to bring tears to many and cheer to a few, the minimum retail price of the Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and country liquor have been increased by 40 to 50 per cent. On the contrary, beer prices would remain less than those in Punjab, as the UT has hiked the price of beer by 10 per cent to 13 per cent. But in the case of the IMFL, the excise duty and the assessment fee have been increased up to Rs 60 per proof litre (PL). If the allotment price of vends goes up, the prices could be more than those in Mohali, observed a UT Excise official. Continuing with the existing policy, the licences will be granted by inviting tenders for allotting vends from May 1, 2012, to April 30, 2013, and the maximum number of vends has been kept unchanged at 65 (country vends) and 152 (IMFL vends). To jack up the revenue, the UT has announced that the minimum reserved price of a liquor vend would be based on the last years highest quoted price for the respective vend and further increasing it by 20 per cent. Giving example, officials in the excise department said last year, the liquor vend in Sector 22 (opposite Sector 17 ISBT) went for Rs 2.73 crore. But under the new policy, the minimum bid money for the particular vend would be Rs 3.28 crore. Further, the slabs from the minimum earnest money have been substantially increased from the previous uniform reserve price of Rs 2.50 lakh. The policy is particularly aimed at benefiting big players who could monopolise the liquor trade and control the prices, said sources in the liquor trade. Now, for an amount of Rs 1 crore, the earnest money would be Rs 10 lakh. For an amount exceeding Rs 1 crore to 1.5 crore, the earnest money would be Rs 13 lakh and for an amount exceeding Rs. 1.5 crore to 2 crore, the earnest money would be Rs 16 lakh. For an amount exceeding, Rs 2 crore, the earnest money would be Rs 20 lakh. Against the anticipated move of bringing down the liquor quota, the UT Excise Department has kept the annual quota of country liquor unchanged at 27 lakh Proof Litre (PL) and of IMFL at 2 crore PL. It would not be out of place to mention that in the current policy, a substantial quantity of liquor quota remains yet to be lifted in the current excise policy that ends on April 20, 2012. Still, the UT has not decreased the quota. Officials said the excise duty on the IMFL has been increased between Rs 30 per PL and Rs 60 PL, depending on the brand. The excise duty on the IMFL is fixed at Rs 30 per PL for cheap, economy, medium, at Rs 35 per PL for Premium and Ultra Premium Brands at Rs 50 per PL for Semi Deluxe, Deluxe & Super Deluxe Brands and Rs 60 per PL for Ultra Deluxe Brands. On the contrary, the excise duty on Beer has been enhanced from Rs. 9 per bottle to Rs. 10 per bottle for light beer and from Rs 15 per bottle to Rs. 17 per bottle for strong beer. Additional license fee at the same rates will be applicable on imported beer. The excise duty on Country Liquor has been enhanced form Rs 7 per PL to Rs 15 per PL.