Excise Dept incurs loss of Rs 1,092 cr over pending dues

Jaipur: The Excise Department has suffered a loss of Rs 1,092 crore as the liquor contractors did not pay to the department and the officers remained oblivious to the fact. The big thing is that the total arrears for the last 50 years have not been as much as it was in the last year alone. A total target of Rs 13,500 crore was given to the Excise Department in the financial year 2021-22. To achieve the revenue target, the departmental officers have left arrears of Rs 1,092 crore on the liquor contractors. The sources even says that even in the history of the last 50 years, the total outstanding amount is not even Rs 200 crore.

According to the rules, exemption was given by the State Government to the liquor contractors to deposit the dues by March 26, 2022. After 3 days, instructions were given to take action against all defaulters. Following State Government’s instructions, in some districts, the excise officials had cancelled the liquor contracts of the defaulters by following the instructions. These officers had confiscated the security deposit and advance EPA amount of the contractors. But in many districts, this action was not taken against most of the licensees.