First to seek nod for it, Punjab yet to issue orders on opening of liquor vends

The issue of opening of vends, after the Centre gave its nod on Friday, was taken up by the Excise Department with Chief Minister Amarinder Singh before the Cabinet meeting on Saturday.

“The policy has been discussed with the Chief Minister and the CM is now authorised by the Cabinet to issue the orders. Just wait for the guidelines,” a senior official of the government said.

The Excise Department, which had already asked the contractors to seek extension in their vends, is waiting for them to pay the excise duty, which is deposited in advance. This duty is the source of the government’s revenue.

As the state had imposed a curfew during the previous fiscal year only on March 22, the new excise policy was yet to be tabled before the Cabinet and cleared. The government then decided to extend the contracts and it is learnt that most of the contractors had agreed.

But the money was not deposited as the curfew was continuing and an uncertainty over the state of affairs was prevailing. Meanwhile, the government wrote to the Centre to seek its nod.

“We will open the shops sometime next week. As per the guidelines, we will not allow the public consumption of liquor. Not more than five persons will be allowed inside the vends. Hence, taverns will not open,” a government official said.

Amarinder was the first Chief Minister of any state to seek the Centre’s permission to open liquor shops. The Centre had refused to do so and had even written back to the state that this could not be allowed.

In the process, Amarinder had to face criticism from the Opposition that accused the CM of pandering to tipplers’ demand. The CM had been stating that liquor shops should be allowed to open as the state was losing revenue due to the curfew and sale of liquor could help the state collect revenue as excise duty.

The CM had already suggested that the liquor shops would be asked to ensure social distancing and sanitisation. Several ministers had earlier told the CM that liquor was being sold clandestinely in the state. While the state was losing revenue, the sale was on.

They had also said that the distilleries were functioning for manufacturing sanitizers with the labour working in the locked-in mode. Due to the vends being closed, Punjab has been losing revenue to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore during the lockdown. Every month, the state earns over Rs 550 crore in excise duty from sale of liquor.