Punjab's alcohol trouble: How liquor across the border is a problem for the state

Come election time, all the alcohol in the region never seem sufficient, and there would be free flow of liquor from other states as well.

Punjab's alcohol manufacturers and vendors complained to the government that liquor made in Chandigarh and marked exclusively for sale in the union territory is flowing into the state where Panchayat elections are scheduled for December 30. The state government swung into action, and launched a special campaign to seize the unauthorised liquor. Till Thursday evening, the authorities had seized 650 cases of country and Indian Made Foreign Liquor.

However, whether the catch has cost the government more than the value of the liquor is not clear. For one, liquor is never sold at the printed MRP. Besides, there is no GST on it, but only a central and state vat is levied.

Like the proverbial grass on the other side being greener, liquor on the other side of the border is what many residents of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, as well as Gurugram, Faridabad and Delhi look for. While petrol pumps do not hesitate to put up notices saying petrol, diesel and LPG are cheaper by XYZ rupees compared to the adjoining state, liquor vends don't. But those who visit the vends know not only where the price is competitive, but also where the alcohol is not adulterated.

For years together, the excise department of the Chandigarh Administration would lose out to that of Punjab, where a very relaxed excise policy would make for much lower prices—brand to brand, the prices were less. One regular even estimated the difference at “30-50 per cent”, and all that people had to do was drive to the end of the city, cross a road and buy alcohol of his choice. Punjab's “excise vends” as they are called, may be shabby holes in the wall, but they not only sell cheaper, but also have ahaatas—an adjoining room with some benches and broken chairs, where snacks are served, of course at a price.

Some years ago, Chandigarh's liquor shops, where the price was always more, underwent a makeover—they turned more swanky with baskets and trolleys to help shoppers pick up their brands. Many of them also began to sell a range of semi-prepared snacks, along with the usual peanuts with or without masala, thus becoming dream stores for hardcore drinkers. With this, the price advantage of neighbouring Punjab's vends somewhat dropped, though not vanished completely.

In its 'New India @75' strategy document, NITI Aayog has proposed that alcohol, among a few other things like tobacco, be subjected to what it has called “sin tax”—a very high tax in the interest of people's health. Surely, the government's think tank must know that hike in tax did not stop people from smoking, as much as creating awareness has. That is why the NITI Aayog has suggested that multiple channels be activated towards greater recognition of healthcare.

Meanwhile, there are lobbies that feel liquor too must be brought under GST. The price could come down by half in some states, is the belief.

But for now, liquor across the border is cheaper for people living near many state borders.