The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) report on previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s 2021-2022 liquor policy which was tabled in Delhi Assembly on Tuesday has revealed that it allegedly led to a loss of over Rs 2,000 crore to government exchequer.
The BJP government in Delhi led by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta tabled the CAG report on the Delhi Excise Policy in the Assembly amid thumping of desks by the BJP MLAs in the House. The scam related to the now-scrapped excise policy was a key issue in the just-concluded Assembly elections.
The CAG report on the Delhi Excise Policy is one of the 14 pending CAG reports on the previous AAP government’s performance.
Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on Performance Audit on Regulation and Supply of Liquor in Delhi said, “Actual implementation was sub-optimal and objectives behind the policy were not achieved. Vends in non-conforming wards could not be opened and equitable distribution of retail vends could not be achieved. Issue and management of zonal licences had major shortcomings.”
According to the report tabled on Tuesday, the audit observed several discrepancies in the way the Excise Department monitored and regulated the supply of liquor in the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
The report showed that the state government suffered cumulative losses of more than Rs 2,000 crore due to the 2021-2022 excise policy.
The working of the Excise Department raises several questions about the way the Department is fulfilling its responsibility. Total financial implication of the audit findings is approximately Rs 2,026.91 crore, as per an overview of the report.
This report contains the results of a Performance Audit conducted on “Regulation and Supply of Liquor in Delhi” covering a period of four years from 2017-18 to 2021-22 to examine Regulation and Supply of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and Foreign Liquor in Delhi.
Audit findings for the period 2017-21 include violation in award of licenses, lack of transparency in pricing of IMFL, inadequate control of quality of liquor, weak Regulatory Functioning regarding timely identification and plugging of revenue leakages and acting against smuggling of liquor, lack of rigour in evidence collection and substantiation in cases of violations of Delhi Excise Act/Rules etc.
This Report also brings out deficiencies in the New Excise Policy (2021-22) such as ignoring the recommendations of the Expert Committee formed for suggesting changes for formation of new Excise Policy such as grant of wholesale license to private entities instead of State owned wholesale entity, upfront charging of excise duty in the license fees in place of excise duty to be charged per bottle and applicant being allowed to get a maximum of 54 retail vends in place of an individual being allotted a maximum of two vends; design and award of Licenses and implementation of the policy.
The audit observed that the Department could not ensure the implementation of Rule 35 of Delhi Excise Rules, 2010, which prohibits the issue of multiple licenses of Performance Audit on Regulation and Supply of Liquor in Delhi – different category (Wholesaler, Retailer, HCR etc.) – to related parties, leading to the existence of common directorship among entities holding various License Types.