To check illegal sale of liquor in Chandigarh, the Department of Excise and Taxation, Chandigarh has introduced 3-D holograms to be pasted on every bottle being sold and stored by the licensees.
Officials said the idea was being deliberated and worked upon for almost 4 months and a transparent process was followed for allocation of the tender for supply of the holograms. Manipal Technologies limited, a company having a vast experience and expertise in design of such holograms has been selected after rigorous scrutiny and will be providing these at a bare minimum price of 8 paise per hologram, officials added.
Ajit Balaji Joshi, Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Chandigarh who monitored the whole process for finalising the specifications and tender, said the holograms are being introduced in Chandigarh after a long time.
"These excise holograms, in their state of the art format, would now be equipped with the tracking facility enabling the department to ascertain the movement of the liquor stock. This will prevent the liquor from being smuggled out of Chandigarh besides ensuring that the duty is paid on the stock in possession of any particular dealer," he added.
A team of senior officers of the department comprising of Rakesh Kumar Popli, Additional Excise and Taxation Commissioner and Ravinder Kaushik, AETC had also visited the manufacturing unit of the company at Manipal to ensure that the best quality 3D Holograms are procured for use by the department. The first consignment of the holograms has been received which would now be issued to the licensees for their pasting on every single bottle of liquor.
The department has urged the consumers of liquor to check these holograms on every purchase made by them to ensure its genuineness. The move would help the department in safeguarding its revenue as the sale and purchase of liquor would now be monitored regularly.