The Chandigarh Administration on Monday approved the new Excise Policy for the year 2025-26 which aims at balancing the aspirations of the consumers, manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and the Government.

 A government spokesperson said that the allotment of Retail Vends of Liquor will be made through an e-tendering system for transparency and E-auction will start from March 13 onwards. Quota of IMFL has been kept the same and, quota of Country Liquor & Imported Foreign Liquor (BIO) has been marginally increased due to increased demand.

Participation fees for vend auction have been the same i.e Rs 200,000 and  97 licensing units will be auctioned by the Excise Department and each licensing unit shall consist of one retail sale vend only.

To facilitate the stakeholders and to minimize the time in approval of label/ brand registration, auto-approval of labels already approved last year, has been kept online. Penalty for non-maintenance of Minimum Rates by retail vends has been kept stringent with closure of retail vends for 3 days for each detected violation. License would not be renewed in case of multiple violations adjudicated against the licensee, the statement said.

⁠A Track & Trace system has been made mandatory for the policy year to prevent illegal liquor sales and ensure proper tracking of inventory. "⁠These enforcement measures will not only curb malpractices, but also secure level playing and competitive field for all the stakeholders," the statement added.