A scarcity of rectified spirit in West Bengal (WB) has brought the bottling operations of organised sector country liquor manufacturers to a halt, disrupting distribution through licensed retail vendors. The shortage was triggered by the state government’s delay in determining the price of rectified spirit.
The state’s country liquor manufacturers are clamouring for changes in government policies and in the pricing structure.
“The government’s apathy towards the country liquor trade in WB will cause loss of revenue and encourage the illicit liquor trade,” said Moulinath Mukherjee, executive officer, West Bengal Country Spirit Manufacturers and Bottlers Association (WBCSMBA).
WB has nine country liquor manufacturers and 14 bottling plants. WBCSMBA represents six of the country liquor manufacturers, whose annual revenue per plant is Rs 50-60 crore, from which the state government earns Rs 35 crore per plant in taxes.
About Rs 15 crore in working capital belonging to the bottling plants has been stuck with the government for the past two years due to procedural delays, Mukherjee said, adding that “the country liquor industry is on the verge of shutting down manufacturing units.”
The main sources of import of rectified spirit for WB are Uttar Pradesh (UP), Uttarakhand and Maharashtra. Rectified spirit is also manufactured by IFB’s single operating distillery in Noorpur, WB. The organised sector in WB requires 6 million litres of rectified spirit per month. IFB manufactures 1.5 million litres per month; the rest has to be imported.
WB’s country liquor manufacturers import rectified spirit(the raw material that is made from molasses, a bi-product of sugarcane). They then dilute it with water in fixed proportions to make country spirit. The bottled country spirit is distributed to consumers throughout WB through 1,500 government-appointed licensed vendors.
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The state government gives the permit and fixes a time for the import of rectified spirit. The permit needs to be sent to UP. After the UP government’s approval, the rectified spirit is imported and transported to WB. Ideally, it should take 15-18 days for it to arrive from UP, including transportation time, approval by respective states and postage time (since permits are couriered from WB to UP). The import permit given by the government has to be acquired within that particular time and the fee has to be paid in advance.
However, said Mukherjee, delays occur when the WB government fixes an unrealistic purchase price or takes an inordinately long time to issue import permits. “For instance, in July this year, the government fixed the purchase price of rectified spirit at Rs 28 per litre, although the UP government is selling it at Rs 31 per litre. Manufacturers are unable to import at a price higher than that fixed by the WB government. So bottling plants in WB are drying up and this has been hampering the production and supply of country liquor to consumers,” noted Mukherjee.