Punjab to again take up with Centre liquor sale issue in state

A day after the Centre rejected Punjab's demand for opening its liquor shops during the coronavirus lockdown, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday said he would again raise the issue of liquor sales with the Centre due t the state's shrinking revenue.

The Union Home Ministry on Thursday had rejected the Punjab government's request for opening of its liquor shops during the lockdown.

In its guidelines for the lockdown, issued on April 15, the Union ministry had said there should be strict ban on the sale of liquor, gutka and tobacco during the lockdown.

The chief minister on Friday lamented that the state was not getting its share from the Centre, which had also rejected its request for allowing liquor sales, leading to state's revenue losses to the tune of Rs 6,200 crore.

The Centre has to compensate, he stressed.

Singh added he would raise these concerns during Monday's video conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Pointing out that Punjab was a small state, he asked how the Centre expected it to cope with the current crisis without Goods and Services Tax (GST) and without liquor sales.

On April 21, the state government had demanded permission for sale of liquor to mobilize excise revenue, besides seeking an interim compensation of Rs 3,000 crore for the month of April amid an alarming resource gap.

In its request, the state government had said the Ministry of Home Affairs should allow the state to take a conscious decision to allow the sale of liquor in certain areas in a phased manner with strict social distancing and other measures to prevent the COVID-19 spread.

This would help the state immensely in its efforts to scale up the relief and health care measures to combat COVID-19 and meet some, if not all, of its committed liabilities and other day-to-day expenses, the CM had then said.

With Punjab facing a huge stress on the state exchequer on account of the requisite health and relief measures with hardly any revenue receipts accruing to the state, the state government has also been demanding a special package and release of the GST arrears of Rs 4,400 crore.

The Punjab government has projected a collection of Rs 6,250 crore from the sale of liquor for 2020-21 in the state, which is known for its high consumption.