Page 5 - Liquor

Chhattisgarh 'liquor scam' generated Rs 2,161 cr corruption money: ED

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has claimed that Rs 2,161 crore of corruption money was generated in the alleged "liquor scam" that began in 2019 in Chhattisgarh with the syndicate comprising senior bureaucrats of state, politicians, their associates and officials of the Excise Department. In its prosecution complaint filed on Tuesday before a special court here in a money laundering case linked to alleged liquor scam in the state, the central agency said this Rs 2,161 crore amount should have gone to the state exchequer. It named Anwar Dhebar, brother of Congress leader and Raipur Mayor Aijaz Dhebar, Managing Director of Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited (CSMCL) Arunpati Tripathi, liquor businessman Trilok Singh Dhillon, hotelier Nitesh Purohit and Arvind Singh as accused. The 'prosecution complaint' along with relied upon documents, in 13,000 pages, was filed in the court under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), said ED's counsel Saurabh .

Tamil Nadu plans to shut down 500 liquor outlets from June 22 onwards

Following up on an announcement made on the floor of the Assembly, 500 retail liquor outlets in Tamil Nadu will stop functioning from June 22 onwards, the state-run TASMAC said on Wednesday. Minister V Senthil Balaji, who has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate and hospitalised for heart-related ailment, had made the announcement in the House in April this year, while holding the Excise portfolio then. State-run liquor retailer Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) recalled the Assembly announcement made then "on the directions of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister" M K Stalin and said a Government Order (GO) was subsequently issued dated April 20, 2023. The GO pertained to identifying 500 retail liquor outlets and closing them, it said. "In order to implement the GO, it has been directed to identify 500 retail outlets across the state and close them from June 22, 20223 onwards." "Based on that, the said 500 retail outlets will not function from June 22," a TASMAC statem

Punjab's excise dept recovers 17,000 kg 'lahan', 320 litres illicit liquor

Punjab government recovered 17,000 kg of 'lahan', used in making illicit liquor, during searches carried out in the last two days in Dasuya area of Hoshiarpur district, an official statement said here on Friday. The excise department also seized 320 litres of illicit liquor and equipment used in the distillation of moonshine, it said. The statement, quoting an official spokesperson of the department, said the teams of excise enforcement, excise officers, and police personnel were deputed to conduct the checking of illicit distillation in Dasuya along the bank of Beas river. A police dog squad, specially trained to detect 'lahan' was also put into service, he said. He said the teams covered an area of about 7 km on foot as well as boats in a well-coordinated operation and Terkiana, Kethana, Badaiyan, Dhanoa, Saidpur, and Bhikhowal villages in Dasuya were extensively mapped and searched. During the searches, it was discovered that the bootleggers had designed a camouflaged modus ...

Licences of clubs serving liquor could be cancelled if CCTV not working

The Delhi excise department has warned hotels, clubs and restaurants serving liquor of "stern action", including cancelling licences, if they fail to install functional CCTV cameras on their premises, officials said on Tuesday. Instances of non-functional closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed at some clubs, hotels and restaurants have come to the notice of the department's enforcement branch during inspections, they said. "It hampers the inspection work of the excise department," an official said. In order to check violations at the hotels, clubs and restaurants, the inspection teams rely on the CCTV footage obtained from their premises. However, often the teams are not provided with the CCTV footage by the licensees on the pretext that the cameras are non-functional, a senior officer of the department said. "In view of the above, all the licensees of hotels, clubs and restaurants holding excise licences are hereby directed to ensure that the CCTV cameras are installe

Tipplers beware! These liquor brands may soon go off the shelves in Delhi

Delhi Excise Department has not renewed the liquor sale licence of three big firms and distributors

Delhi liquor scam: YSRCP MP's son tried to derail probe, ED retrieves chats

Raghav Magunta, son of YSR Congress Party MP from Andhra Pradesh's Ongole Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy, destroyed crucial evidence to derail the probe

Odisha govt's new excise policy to allow beach shacks to serve liquor

In the face of criticism from some quarters, Odisha government has allowed opening of beach shacks which can serve food and liquor in the state to promote tourism. This is part of the Odisha government's new Excise Policy for the year 2023-24 which will be implemented from April 1, 2023. The policy also increase excise duty for Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) marginally besides increasing a few other costs for bars, which may increase retail alcohol costs. The new policy provides of opening of beach shacks in the state to promote tourism. However, the license for these shacks will only be granted to the Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) and not to any private operator. The shacks can be opened near different water bodies such as rivers, lakes, and dams, apart from sea beaches, the new policy said adding that the beach shack license will be considered a special category of restaurant ON' license, and the OTDC will have to decide on selecting operators for beach shacks

Withdrawing new liquor policy set to hit Delhi revenues by 45% in FY23

State govt could still raise revenue surplus for the year after reverting to old way of conducting liquor trade

Drugs, liquor worth over Rs 6,400 cr seized in Gujarat in two years

Narcotic substances and liquor worth Rs 6,413 crore were seized in different parts of Gujarat in the last two years, the state government informed the legislative Assembly on Friday. Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi shared the data while responding to a set of questions by Congress MLAs during the Question Hour of the Assembly. As per the state government's data, the police seized liquor, both country made and Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), worth Rs 212 crore in two years till December 2022. The seized liquor included IMFL bottles worth Rs 197.56 crore, country-made liquor worth Rs 3.99 crore and beer bottles worth Rs 10.51 crore, the data revealed. The authorities also seized drugs, such as heroin, charas, opium, cannabis and methamphetamine, worth Rs 6,201 crore from different parts of the state in the same period, Sanghavi said. While majority of criminals associated with this illegal trade had been already caught, nearly 3,700 accused are still at large, he ...

Manish Sisodia to be produced in court today: All you need to know

Sisodia was arrested in a case pertaining to alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the excise policy of the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi

ED gets five-day custody of liquor businessman in Delhi excise policy scam

The central probe agency has alleged that Amandeep Dhal played a major role in the formulation, conspiracy and kickbacks paid by the South Group

How Manish Sisodia's arrest poses a challenge to AAP's Delhi govt, Kejriwal

Sisodia has not only been the face of AAP's education policy in Delhi but also heads as many as 18 of the total 33 departments

Women's group gears up to restrict liquor supply during Nagaland polls

Nagaland is a dry state but with the February 27 Assembly election campaign gaining momentum, a women's organisation in Phek district has set up check-gates to restrict the flow of liquor offered as inducement to voters in the district during the poll process. Phek is occupied by Chakhesang and Pochury tribes having five assembly constituencies with four seats in Chakhesang area and also has some villages in Meluri constituency of the Pochury tribe. Concerned about the ill effects of liquor and also liquor offered as inducement during Assembly elections, the womenfolk of the Chakhesang Naga tribe under the Chakhesang Mothers' Association (CMA) have put up around 100 check-points in their area, Zhonel Tunyi, president of CMA, the apex body of womenfolk for Chakhesang community in Phek district told PTI here. "During elections the flow of liquor as inducement is very high while many people get into physical fights and clashes in support of candidates becoming enemies and even leading

Foreign liquor, beer prices set to rise in Uttar Pradesh from April 1

The prices of foreign liquor and beer in Uttar Pradesh will increase by 10 per cent with the implementation of the new excise policy from April 1, an official statement said on Sunday. The new excise policy 2023-24 was cleared by Uttar Pradesh Cabinet on Saturday. According to the statement, an increment of 10 per cent has been made on licence fees of foreign liquor, beer, cannabis retail shops and model shops. The government has also increased the fee for running the canteen facility at model shops to Rs 3 lakh from the present Rs 2 lakh in the new excise policy. With the new policy, the government has also increased the licence fee and security for bonded warehouse licenses (BWFL-2A, 2B, 2C) of foreign liquor, beer and wine. The registration and renewal fees of the master warehouse have been increased too. "The increase in licence fee and that of running canteen facility along with warehouse licences will eventually lead to rise in liquor prices," said Devesh Jaiswal of the UP .

Dubai ends 30% tax on alcohol sales, fee for liquor licenses in sheikhdom

Dubai ended its 30 per cent tax on alcohol sales in the sheikhdom on Sunday and made its required liquor licenses free to obtain, ending a long-standing source of revenue for its ruling family to apparently further boost its tourism to the emirate. The sudden New Year's Day announcement, made by Dubai's two state-linked alcohol retailers, came apparently from a government decree from its ruling Al Maktoum family. However, government officials did not immediately acknowledge the decision and did not respond to questions from The Associated Press. But it follows years of loosening regulations over liquor in the sheikhdom, which now sells alcohol during daylight hours in Ramadan and began providing home delivery during the lockdowns at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Alcohol sales have long served as a major barometer of the economy of Dubai, a top travel destination in the UAE, home to the long-haul carrier Emirates. During the recent World Cup in nearby Qatar, Dubai's many bar

Illegal liquor: Consumption may be up, but deaths show the opposite trend

India has a higher per capita consumption of illegal liquor than most countries in the neighbourhood

Taxes account for 67-80% of liquor prices; threatens sector's future: ISWAI

High rates of taxation are crippling the alcoholic beverages (alcobev) sector and threatening the future of the liquor industry in the country, the International Spirits & Wines Association of India (ISWAI) said. ISWAI, the apex body of the premium alcobev industry in the country, said that taxes account for 67 to 80 per cent of the product prices, leaving little for the trade to sustain and manage operations. The Indian alcobev industry is in deep crisis due to inflation on one hand and high taxation rates. In this context, it is needed to decrease taxes and raise product prices for the sector to sustain," ISWAI CEO Nita Kapoor said. Unlike other industries, the liquor industry does not have the freedom to price the products, Kapoor said. "The liquor trade contributes 25 per cent to 40 per cent of the state governments' revenues. Despite this, the government chose to tax it at high rates. The rates should be rationalised," Kapoor said. According to ISWAI, the Indian alcobev ...

Fumes of failure

Prohibition is damaging Bihar in multiple ways

Drugs, illicit liquor spreading roots across national capital: Survey

Easily available at various hotspots, which include JJ clusters and parks, at prices ranging from Rs 100 to Rs 5,000, anyone can get ganja in the quantities that they require

Toll in Chhapra hooch tragedy soars to 39, minister vows strict action

Bihar minister Sunil Kumar "vowed' that govt would take "strict action" against culprits responsible for deaths