Amid row over excise revenue loss and liquor smuggling, Punjab Excise and Taxation Department has conducted stock checking at 15 distilleries in the state.
The checking was carried out on Friday, followed by raid on the premises of a Rajpura distillery which, it is believed, also supplied liquor to a smuggler in Kharkhoda, Haryana, amidst the lockdown.
"We have conducted stock checking at 15 distilleries," Chief Secretary Excise and Taxation A Venuprasad said on Saturday.
According to the sources, searches were conducted in Mohali, Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Bathinda, Mansa and Kapurthala distilleries.
The action was taken after some liquor contractors raised the issue that liquor from other states was being pushed into Punjab for sale and distilleries here were not supplying alcohol to other states and disposing of their stock in the state only.
It has also been suspected by the department that many of these distilleries in disguise were making sanitisers, manufactured liquor and sold it illegally. These distilleries may have supplied extra neutral alcohol (ENL) to illegal distilleries that have flourished across Punjab amidst lockdown.
During stock checking, the department has found 22,000 liquor cases, which were to be supplied to Chhattisgarh at one of the distilleries.
"We are verifying whether it was really to be supplied to Chhattisgarh. We are compiling reports (on checking) and they will be ready by evening," Chief Secy Venuprasad said.
Several Congress legislators a few days ago had demanded probe against the chief secretary while blaming him for excise revenue loss after a row erupted at a May 9 meeting here in which some ministers had accused him of his "unacceptable behaviour" with them.
On the other hand, opposition party Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) had alleged that the liquor mafia in league with some Congress leaders caused "loss" of Rs 5,600 crore to the state exchequer by allowing liquor from distilleries without payment of excise duty on the same.
A few days ago, the excise officials along with the police department had raided illegal distillery and liquor bottling plant in Patiala which was allegedly manufacturing illegal liquor during the lockdown period.
The distilleries were allowed to manufacture alcohol earlier this month. Misusing labels and passes allowing sale to states such as Arunachal Pradesh, these distilleries are believed to have sold liquor illegally within Punjab, thus evading taxes. The Excise Department is yet to give the nod to liquor sale to Arunachal. Importantly, the average growth in excise revenues in the past three years has been just 2.86 per cent.
A meeting of liquor contractors with two members of the Group of Ministers —Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria and Vijay Inder Singla — was held last evening where liquor contractors are learnt to have raised the issue of smuggling and illicit sales.
They particularly mentioned a distillery in Majha region impacting sales at vends in Ferozepur, Fazilka and Abohar.
Chief Secy while talking to a media house said, all the distilleries were checked and some stock which was unaccounted in ledgers was sealed and being probed to ascertain the reality of it. He further disclosed the Punjab Chief Minister has clearly passed orders to ensure that no supply of illegal liquor was allowed at all cost. He said that department would be very strict on this issue and no one would be allowed tomindulge in this illegal liquor business.
Meanwhile, the department has also ordered the transfer of 22 excise and taxation officers and 73 excise inspectors.