The revenue generated through sale of liquor in Jharkhand has nearly quadrupled since the State decided to hand over the retail of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and country liquor to private players here, officials from the State Excise Department said on Wednesday.
“The revenue generated through liquor from April 1 to July 20 is around Rs 750 crore. The revenue was around Rs 200 crore in the quarter before April,” said Deputy Commissioner of Excise, G K Singh.
The State Government in August 2017 had started retail of liquor on its own and imposed a prohibition on private liquor stores across Jharkhand. The move, however, did not yield desired results as the revenue skydived, sources said. Teething problems kept on haunting the Government. Jharkhand had around 1,450 private liquor shops which were shut down after July 31, 2017. The Government started retailing liquor from 208 shops on August 1, 2017. The number of shops gradually increased, but long queues and ruckus outside the shops became a common sight.
“Out of the 1,634 sanctioned shops, a total of 1,595 are settled,” said Singh, adding that the remaining 39 shops too will be operational soon. Settled shops are the shops that are running across the State adhering to the rules and regulations set by the State Government.
Excise Commissioner Bhor Singh Yadav recently held a meeting with representatives of the Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FJCCI) and apprised them about the various provisions that may benefit liquor traders and bar owners in the State. “The revenue has increased since the new excise laws. We have also incorporated necessary changes to ensure smooth and safe business for liquor traders and bar owners here,” he said.
State-run Jharkhand State Beverages Corporation Limited (JSBCL) had set an ambitious annual revenue target of Rs 1,500 crore after taking over retail of liquor here in August 2017. However, revenue generated from liquor declined from Rs 950 crore in 2016-17, when the business was privately run, to Rs 840 crore in 2017-18, sources from the Excise Department said.
Besides ensuring smooth business, the Excise Department has also come up with helpline numbers and several other initiatives to prevent private parties from selling liquor at a higher price than the MRP. “All the shops have to display the price chart so that customers know the price of the liquor they are purchasing. Customers can also lodge complaints with us if any shop sells liquor at a higher price than the MRP,” said Singh, adding that the department has rounded off the price of liquor in order to do away with the hassle of returning change to the customers.