On last day of budget session, Haryana Assembly passes 8 bills

The Haryana Assembly on Wednesday passed eight Bills, including the Punjab Excise (Haryana Amendment) Bill, a stringent law aimed to prevent adulteration and illicit manufacture of liquor.

The Punjab Excise (Haryana Amendment) Bill, 2020, aims to ensure complete check on manufacturing or sale of spurious liquor, thwarting attempts of evasion of excise levies and optimisation of revenue.

Introducing the Bill, Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, who holds the Excise department portfolio, said it was imperative to that the law regarding unlawful import, export, transport, manufacture and possession of liquor be made more stringent.

Major offences under the amended Act will mean adulteration, possession, transport and sale of non-duty paid liquor, illicit manufacture, unlawful possession, transport, transit and sale of liquor.

Other major offences will also include tampering with sealed bottles and sale to minor.

Also, under the new law, whosoever imports, exports, transports, manufactures, collects or possesses any intoxicant, or uses or has in his possession any material for the purpose of manufacturing any intoxicant, shall be punished for every such offence with prison term which may extend to three years and with fine, which may extend to Rs 10 lakh.