Punjab urges Chandigarh to check smuggling of liquor from UT, gives details of distilleries and brands

The letter has requested the Union Territory’s excise department to investigate the seized bottles, which were transported from Chandigarh over a period of 15 days.

“You are requested to kindly look into the matter and review the enforcement activities so that such illegal activities are prevented. It is also requested that the complete supply chain (backward and forward linkages) may be enquired into in the above-mentioned cases so that the real culprits are uncovered and proceeded against as per the law,” the letter read.

The FIRs mention the names of Chandigarh-based distilleries and the brand names of the seized bottles. Sources said that during the last quarter of the current fiscal, liquor smuggling into Punjab from Chandigarh has been on the rise, as contractors aim to meet their quotas.

Punjab has always reported smuggling of liquor from Chandigarh. But since it took over in 2022, the AAP government has implemented a policy that has made smuggling into Punjab less lucrative. The Government has made liquor cheaper in the state, although prices remain higher than in Chandigarh.

“The difference is not much. Still, Chandigarh’s contractors are now dumping their liquor in Punjab. It is not about the money; it is about the consumption of the allotted quota now. They just want it dumped here in some way or other. Earlier, we used to witness large-scale smuggling into Punjab. This used to cost us revenue also. But now, we have been able to manage it,” said a state government official.

The Government had set a revenue target of Rs 10,300 crore for this fiscal. The target is expected to be met as the Government has achieved its excise targets, the official said.

A source said other officials from the Punjab excise and taxation department will also write to the Chandigarh excise commissioner, requesting him to monitor the outflow of liquor from the Union Territory to the state. “We have reports of confiscation of Chandigarh-made liquor in Patiala, Mohali and Ropar. Senior officials will write to Chandigarh and seek action,” said the source.

Last year, the excise departments of Punjab and Chandigarh held meetings on the issue.

The Chandigarh excise department has responded to the Punjab excise commissioner, stating that it has zero tolerance towards interstate liquor smuggling. “It has come to the notice of this department through a newspaper that 114 FIRs have been registered regarding liquor ‘meant for sale in UT Chandigarh’ seized in Punjab. It is requested that details of the aforementioned FIRs, along with batch numbers of the seized liquor, be provided at the earliest so that the source from the batch numbers can be traced and appropriate action can be taken,” the excise collector of Chandigarh said in a letter.