UT excise dept tightens grip on inter-state liquor smugglers
Concerned over the recent surge in inter-state liquor smuggling cases, the UT excise and taxation department has stepped up enforcement efforts.
On Wednesday, excise and taxation secretary Ajay Chagti chaired a meeting with officers concerned and directed vend owners to maintain a liquor stock and conduct sale strictly as per the “track and trace” system. He warned the liquor vend owners of strict action in case of non-compliance.
On November 9, Moga police registered a case against two individuals for supplying 200 bottles of liquor in the district that were meant for sale in Chandigarh. Similarly, on November 12, Chandigarh Police seized 200 boxes of liquor from a Bolero pickup, en route to Himachal Pradesh. Earlier, on October 27, the excise department of Rupnagar confiscated 175 boxes of Indian-made foreign liquor, worth around ₹5 lakh, being smuggled from Chandigarh.
During the meeting, Chagti emphasised the need for proper implementation of the track and trace system for liquor sold in Chandigarh. Additionally, excise officials were instructed to intensify inspections of liquor vends, bottling plants, and wholesale godowns. These measures were particularly prompted by recent cases of interstate smuggling where liquor manufactured in Chandigarh was found without proper tracking.
Since alcohol is priced lower in the UT, smuggling into Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Gujarat has been a persistent issue.
What is track and trace system
With an aim to curb smuggling, the UT excise and taxation department introduced the track and trace system to monitor the entire supply chain of liquor production, distribution, and retail, in September this year. “The system promotes transparency and accountability among stakeholders,” Chagti said.
The system begins at the production stage, where each liquor bottle is assigned a unique identification code, much similar to a QR code. Each bottle and its case carry unique QRs and barcodes which can be scanned to verify the source and trace the flow of liquor.
