The Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly passed the State Excise Amendment Bill 2014 on Thursday making stringent provisions to curb the manufacture of illicit liquor and its illegal trade.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu introduced the bill for discussion on Thursday, stressing the need to address the growing challenges related to the illicit liquor trade.

“Sometimes people even lose their lives due to the sale of illicit liquor,” he said.

“The amendment bill has provisions to regulate the production, sale and transportation of liquor. But with the increasing cases of illicit liquor manufacture and consumption, it has become necessary to increase penalties and streamline enforcement processes,” he said.

The amended provisions are aimed at improving the effectiveness of investigations and trials related to excise offences, he added.

Major amendments have been made in 13 sections of the Act. These include Sections 2, 26, 39, 40, 41, 43, 44, 47, 53, 66, 67 and 68.

The amended Act includes an increase in penalties for various offences, with fines ranging from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh. A major change in Section 41 (E) allows the government to confiscate property illegally acquired by the offenders through the illicit liquor trade.

If the District Magistrate or Collector finds illegally acquired property, these will be vested in the state government, free from all encumbrances. The Collector or District Magistrate can order confiscation of the property of offenders under the new provisions.

The amendments also include harsher penalties for offences such as selling alcohol to minors, employing minors in alcohol-related activities, illegal production and sale, and mixing harmful substances with alcohol. Additionally, harsher penalties have been imposed on license holders or their employees for fraudulent activities. All offences are now classified as cognizable, meaning arrests can be made without a warrant.

The government aims to use these measures to curb the menace of illicit liquor manufacturing and ensure a more robust enforcement framework to tackle the growing issues related to alcohol abuse in the state.

Earlier, while participating in the discussion on the bill, BJP’s Randhir Sharma said that the government has increased the work of the police by this amendment as the police is already overburdened as it already has a lot of work.

He said that the government should deploy more policemen in the police stations after this amendment.