2nd auction: Out of 46, Chandigarh finds takers only for 10 liquor vends

Chandigarh: The UT Excise and Taxation Department has been able to allot only 10 liquor vends during the auction of 46 remaining units here today. The reserve price of the remaining 46 liquor vends was Rs 233 crore.

The department had received a lukewarm response to its first round of auction held on March 7 for the allotment of liquor vends under the 2023-24 Excise Policy. The department was able to sell only 51 vends, out of a total of 97 vends then.

The next round of auction will be held on March 23.

The department today earned a revenue of Rs 38.18 crore against the reserve price of Rs 36.79 crore — an increase of 3.77% (over the reserve price).

A liquor vend in Maloya village received the highest bid of Rs 5.13 crore against the reserve price of Rs 5.03 crore followed by a liquor vend at Mauli Jagran, which was auctioned for Rs 4.55 crore against the reserve price of Rs 4.54 crore. Similarly, a liquor vend in Sector 24-C received the third highest bid of Rs 4.51 crore against the reserve price of Rs 4.32 crore.

On tepid response to the auction, Sachit Jaiswal, advocate, Excise and Taxation, said, “Liquor contractors have given less priority to participate in the auction here due to the introduction of lottery system and small groups with 1% VAT and 1% Excise Duty under the Punjab Excise Policy 2024-2025.”

During the auction held on March 7, the Dhanas liquor vend received the highest bid of Rs 9.17 crore against the reserve price of Rs 8.32 crore. The vend had remained unsold last year. In 2023-24, its reserve price was fixed at Rs 11.53 crore, which was brought down to Rs 8.32 crore for the fiscal 2024-25. Earlier, the vend had received the highest bids for three consecutive years.

On March 7, the department had earned Rs 243.84 crore against the reserve price of Rs 218.66 crore — an increase of 11.53% over the reserve price) and 10% over the last year’s licence fee.

For the financial year 2024-25, the department has decided to give 84 licences and increase the number of vends from 95 to 97. The total reserve price of all these vends has been fixed at Rs 452.29 crore. For the first time, the UT decided that any liquor vend remaining unsold will be run by Chandigarh Industrial and Tourism Development Corporation Limited (CITCO).

Having failed to allot 18 vends, out of a total of 95, despite 20 rounds of auctions under the Excise Policy 2023-24, the department has reduced the reserve prices of certain liquor vends in the 2024-25 policy.