UP liquor policy draws Rs 367-cr investments

The UP government has said its new excise policy has been a huge success, and has attracted an investment of Rs 367 crore in eight new distilleries so far.

Of these, five have been commissioned while the three will soon be completed. The government has also maintained that in the past five years excise revenue has increased by Rs 1,100 crore.

Chief Secretary Naveen Chandra Bajpayee today said the government was satisfied with the annual revenue generated from the liquor vends selling India-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and country liquor and the fresh investments in the distilleries in the last two years.

On reports of an income tax raid on the premises of the UP Distillers Association (UPDA) at Delhi and the UPDA allegedly being a cartel of UP-based private distillery units, Bajpayee said, "Far from favouring any particular distillery , group or the UPDA, we have encouraged competition in both the potable and industrial alcohol markets by promoting investments in new distilleries."

He said big firms like Bajaj Hindusthan, India Glycol Ltd, Radico Khaitan, Mohit Petrochermicals, the Dwarikesh group and Shakumbhari sugar mills had set up distilleries.

Defending the excise policy for allotment of liquor vends, he said it was adopted in 2001-02 when the BJP was in power.

According to this policy, IMFL liquor vends are allotted on the basis of licence fees through the lottery system, while country liquor is sold at the distillery level after realising the excise duty.