UT warns vend owners over interstate smuggling of liquor

The UT Excise and Taxation Department has warned of strict action over violation of Excise Policy 2024-25 after several cases of interstate smuggling of liquor from the city were reported in the past three weeks. Earlier, smuggling of city liquor has been reported from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Gujarat.

During a meeting, Excise and Taxation Secretary Ajay Chagti directed vend owners to maintain liquor stock and sell liquor strictly as per the track-and-trace system.

The Moga police had registered a case against two individuals for supplying 200 bottles of liquor in the district that was meant for sale in Chandigarh on November 9. Similarly, the Chandigarh Police seized 200 boxes of liquor from a vehicle on way to Himachal on November 12. On October 27, the Excise Department of Rupnagar seized 175 boxes of liquor worth around Rs 5 lakh that were being smuggled into Punjab from Chandigarh. Chagti stressed the need for proper implementation of the track-and-trace system for liquor sold in Chandigarh.

Track-and-trace system

To check interstate smuggling of liquor, the Excise and Taxation Department in September introduced the track-and-trace system to monitor the entire supply chain of liquor production, distribution and retail. The begins at the production stage, where each liquor bottle is assigned a unique identification code, such as a QR code. Each bottle and its case carry unique QR and barcodes, which can be scanned to verify the source and trace the flow of liquor.

“It is a positive step taken by the Excise and Taxation Department to keep a check on the interstate smuggling of liquor. Officials of the department should take preventive measures in this regard,” said Sachit Jaiswal, Excise and Taxation Advocate.