Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has approved a proposal for e-auction of the liquor shops in the State from the Financial Year 2015-16. The administration is now gearing up for e-auction of the IMFl Off and Country Spirit (CS) and Out Still (OS) shops. Odisha would be the first State to implement e-auction of excise shops not only for transparency sake but also for generation of more revenue.
In fact, the Supreme Court stood by the State Government’s decision to go in for e-auction when it was opposed by litigants.The State Government initiated a process for introduction of e-auction in 2014-15, but more than 80 petitions were filed in the Odisha High Court opposing the move.
The High Court had in July 2013 quashed the Government’s decision and laid down 10 conditions for e-auctions. The Government then approached the apex court challenging the High Court’s order.
The Supreme Court in its order on March 7, 2014 put a stay on six conditions laid down by the High Court for e-auctioning of liquor shops while allowing the State to start the process with four conditions. “If the State Government fulfils four conditions, it can go for e-auctioning of liquor shop licences for Indian Made Foreign liquor (IMFl) and Country Sprit (CS),” the Supreme Court observed.
The four conditions are: solvency certificate amount should be six times the reserve price; local surety and solvency certificate are must for auctioneers from outside the State; applicants with criminal backgrounds cannot participate in the ; and locals of an area will have a say on setting up of liquor shop as per Section 22 of the State Government’s notification.
The Government last allotted licences to liquor shops as far back as in 2005. And since then, the licences have been renewed every year with a token increase in the annual fees. There are about 1,131 IMFl shops and more than 500 country spirit shops in the State.