Liquor revenue collection up 16.4% in Faridabad, expected to rise further

Faridabad, April 11

The Excise Department here has recorded revenue of Rs 778 crore till March. It is Rs 110 crore more and 16.4 per cent higher than the revenue collected last year, according to department officials.

With the current financial period for the Excise Department ending on June 11, the revenue is expected to surpass the target of Rs 850 crore, it is claimed.

The department collected Rs 668 crore last year. The new financial period began on June 12, 2022, due to certain technical reasons.

The quota consumption till March 31 has been 63 lakh proof litres (PL) against the figure of 58.22 lakh PL last year (2021-22). The quota of Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL) in this period is 83 lakh PL and 78 lakh PL, respectively. Besides, the department released an additional quota of 23 lakh PL of country-made and 18 lakh PL of the IMFL in the current financial period. The department also released 72,251 cases of English wine in this period, which led to enhanced collection, it is claimed.

The Excise Department had auctioned the liquor vends in the district against the licence fee of Rs 557.27 crore for the current financial period. It was 29.59 per cent higher than the fee during the previous year (2021-22). Though the number of zones was reduced from 106 to 60 last year, the number of vends in each zone has gone up from two to four due to the fact that 24 villages were added in the municipal (city) limits in 2021-22.

Anil Yadav, Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner (Excise), said the jump in licence fee was expected to help in surpassing the targeted collection of revenue of Rs 850 crore in the current financial period, which will end on June 11.