The joint excise commissioner of Meerut zone has directed officials to take action against liquor vendors in the national Capital if they are found selling more than prescribed amount of booze to customers. He also held a meeting with excise officers of Gautam Budh Nagar and Ghaziabad, along with representatives of liquor traders from Delhi on Monday.
The meeting was held to check illegal liquor transportation from Delhi to Uttar Pradesh. Headed by Mahendra Singh, joint excise commissioner, Meerut zone, it was attended by Gautam Budh Nagar excise officer RB Singh, Ghaziabad excise officer RK Singh and representatives of liquor traders from the national Capital.
The representatives of liquor traders in Delhi were advised not to sell large amounts of liquor to individuals. “As per the excise policy in Delhi, a shop can sell a maximum nine litres of liquor to a person. But we have caught some people with large quantities of liquor. If anyone is caught with excess liquor in UP, the excise department will file an FIR against the suspect and also against liquor traders,” said Gautam Budh Nagar excise officer RB Singh.
The joint excise commissioner also requested the liquor shop representatives to stop giving high discounts on liquor at shops located near the Delhi-UP border.
Meanwhile, the excise department in Gautam Budh Nagar district said there has been a 40% dip in liquor sale revenues in the last 45 days.
“There are around 40 liquor shops in Gautam Budh Nagar that are located near the Delhi border. These shops have reported a 40% dip in revenues in the last one month ever since liquor vends in Delhi started giving 50% rebate on liquor,” Singh added.
In order to check smuggling of liquor from Delhi to UP, the district excise department has opened three checkpoints where excise officials have been deployed on a permanent basis.
Earlier on Saturday, the excise department arrested three suspects for illegally bringing liquor from Delhi to Noida.
“The three were arrested during a routine vehicle check in Sector 14A. They were carrying two cartons of foreign made whisky. An FIR under sections 60/63/72 of the Excise Act was registered. Apart from the three suspects, the seller and director of the liquor shop in Delhi from where the liquor was purchased have also been named as co-accused in the FIR,” said Singh.
Officials in Delhi’s excise department said they will review the directives issued by the joint excise commissioner, Meerut. “We will review the directives to check the legalities in such matters and henceforth action will be taken accordingly,” said Pankaj Bhatnagar, assistant commissioner (enforcement), department of excise, Delhi government.
The above news was originally posted on www.hindustantimes.com
