Chandigarh: Only 5 of 29 liquor vends allotted in fifth round of auction
In the fifth attempt to auction unsold liquor vends, the Chandigarh excise and taxation department had slashed the reserve price further by 9% to 15%, hoping to elicit better response
UT excise and taxation department’s fifth attempt to auction unsold liquor vends also proved to be a damp squib, with only four of 29 vends finding takers.
For the fifth round of auctions, the department had slashed the reserve price further by 9% to 15%, hoping to elicit better response.
But as 25 of total 95 liquor vends still went unsold, the department will go for a sixth round on April 11 after reducing the reserve price further by 12% to 20%.
Last year, the department had held seven auctions, yet three of the 96 vends went unsold.
At Thursday’s auction, the liquor vend in Sector 47-C fetched the highest bid of ₹7 crore against the reserve price of ₹6.73 crore. The other vends auctioned are located at the Sector-7 market, Sector-25 market and Sector 44-D. The department earned ₹20.40 crore against the reserve price of ₹19.90 crore.
Liquor contractors have maintained that the poor response to the auctions is due to the Punjab excise policy offering more perks than that rolled out by Chandigarh.
{{/usCountry}}Liquor contractors have maintained that the poor response to the auctions is due to the Punjab excise policy offering more perks than that rolled out by Chandigarh.
{{/usCountry}}A liquor vend contractor, who didn’t wish to be named, said the VAT in Punjab was 1% of the ex-distillery price (EDP), compared to a much steeper 12.5% VAT in Chandigarh.
{{/usCountry}}A liquor vend contractor, who didn’t wish to be named, said the VAT in Punjab was 1% of the ex-distillery price (EDP), compared to a much steeper 12.5% VAT in Chandigarh.
{{/usCountry}}Another reason for contractors’ exodus from Chandigarh is the excise fee, which is 1% in Punjab, but ranges between ₹445 and ₹3,500 per case in the UT.
{{/usCountry}}Another reason for contractors’ exodus from Chandigarh is the excise fee, which is 1% in Punjab, but ranges between ₹445 and ₹3,500 per case in the UT.
{{/usCountry}}Contractors have also blamed UT for fixing quota at 18 lakh liquor boxes a year, which means unlifted liquor cases will lead to a penalty. The penalty is ₹900 per case for Indian made foreign liquor and ₹3,500 per case for foreign liquor. In contrast, Punjab has an open quota with no compulsion.
{{/usCountry}}Contractors have also blamed UT for fixing quota at 18 lakh liquor boxes a year, which means unlifted liquor cases will lead to a penalty. The penalty is ₹900 per case for Indian made foreign liquor and ₹3,500 per case for foreign liquor. In contrast, Punjab has an open quota with no compulsion.
{{/usCountry}}They have also cited the higher licence fee in Chandigarh for the poor response, which is ₹6 crore on an average compared to ₹1.5 crore to ₹2 crore in Punjab.
