UP government has deferred the proposal to increase the number of liquor vends in the state selling country liquor (Cl) and India Made Foreign liquor (IMFl) for the next financial year. The excise policy empowers the Excise commissioner to increase the number of liquor vends every year under `UP excise number of shops and location) rules 1968, to permit the opening of new liquor vends. Though the purpose of opening new vends is to increase revenue, officially it’s for preventing the adverse effects on the public health by the sale of the illicit and spurious liquor in remote and rural areas of the state.
The government has also deferred the proposal to sell the IMFl in 250 Ml tetra packs. The proposal was sent to the government in June last year and also placed before the cabinet, the cabinet has decided to defer the issue.
Official sources said following the decision of the Kerala and Bihar governments to restrict the sale of the potable alcohol , state government thought it would be prudent to freeze the number of liquor vends selling IMFl, Cl, beer and also the model shops selling IMFl. `` Due to resource constraints it’s not possible for the state government to consider partial or total ban on the sale of the alcohol in the state as it fetches huge revenue for the state exchequer, number of the liquor vends is most likely to be freeze for the next financial year’’, said an official.
UP has over 23,000 liquor vends which includes 13,746 for Cl, 5,263 for IMFl, 4,242 beer shops and 400 model shops across the state.
The excise commissioner Bhavnath Singh said `` number of liquor vends is a policy issue which is decided by the state government, the excise policy for the next fiscal 2016-17 is likely to be announced this month ‘’. He said ``the excise department had sent the proposal to the state government for the sale of IMFl of 250 Ml in tetra paks but is yet to decide over the issue’’. He added `` if the proposal is approved by the state government for the next fiscal then the department will implement it only for the IMFl of 250 Ml quantity and not for the Country liquor (Cl) and the beer,
Official sources indicated that the in the new excise policy the state government is most likely to be announced within a week. The next fiscal being the election year the policy will be valid for two years. In the policy the license of the existing shop owners is likely to be renewed for the next two years with an annual hike of 15 percent in the license fee.
The hike in license fee is likely to result in ten percent increase in the price of the Cl and 15 percent in IMFl. Against the target of Rs 17,500 crore as revenue from excise for 2015-16, the collection is estimated to be close to Rs 16,000 crore—thus a shortfall of Rs 1,500 crore. The excise revenue target in 2014-15 was Rs 14,500 crore but the recovery was only Rs 13, 271 crore –a shortfall of Rs 1,282 crore. The target for the next fiscal 2016-17 is likely to be over Rs 19,000 crore.