Abolishing the l-1A license to bring in transparency in Punjab’s liquor trade, Punjab Government on Friday ordered all Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs) to take strict actions against the bootleggers and rid the state of the menace.
“In order to uproot the menace of bootlegging and illegal sale of liquor, clear directions have been given to the DCs and SSPs to curb the illegal sale of liquor," said an official spokesperson.
He said that only legal transfer of liquor will be allowed and strict action will be taken against bootleggers who indulge in illegal transfers from one area to another.
With this, fair competition in the trade will be ensured and licensees will be able to trade without any fears and pressures.
The concept of l-1A license — super wholesale licence — was introduced by the previous Akali-BJP government.
Spokesperson said that the Congress government has brought several reforms in the ‘excise policy’ to make this trade more transparent with the main aim to safeguard the interests of the consumers and the licensees.
“Major hurdle experienced by the licensees in this trade was introduction of l-1A license by the previous government. Major relief has been given to the licensees in the new Excise Policy 2017-18 by abolishing l-1A license,” he said.
Further, l-1 license — wholesale licence — has been given as a matter of right to the retailers, doing away with the discretion of the Government in allocating wholesale licences. This is a major step towards providing transparent and fair governance, he said.
In line with its promise of discouraging liquor consumption in poll manifesto, Capt Amarinder Singh led Congress government has already announced to bring down the number of liquor vends and slashed the liquor quota in its new excise policy for 2017-18.
The quota of PMl and IMFl has been significantly reduced by 14 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively.
In addition to these reforms, the group sizes have been increased. With the increase in group sizes, the number of groups has significantly come down to 148 as compared to 626 in the previous year.
Further, decrease in the number of groups will also help in mitigating the effect of closure of liquor vends within 500 meters area on the national and state highways.
About 550 liquor vends will close down with the implementation of the Supreme Court order, which had directed closure of liquor vends within 500 metres area on national and state highways.
The quota of country liquor has been reduced by 14 per cent from 10.10 crore proof litres to 8.70 crore proof litres.
Similarly, the quota of Indian Made Foreign liquor (IMFl) has been reduced by 20 per cent from 4.73 crore proof litres to 3.80 crore proof litres.
Punjab is targeting total revenue of Rs 5,440 crore from liquor during 2017-18. The number of liquor vends in the state will be reduced to 5,900 from 6,384 at present.
To make the trade more retailer-friendly, maximum price cap for liquor has been abolished. From the strict penalties enshrined in Excise Policy 2017-18, it is very clear that illegal trade practices like bootlegging, illegal manufacturing of liquor etc will not be tolerated, said the spokesperson.