The liquor contracts that were not sold in the auction in Himachal Pradesh will remain closed on Tuesday. Even after several rounds of auction in Shimla, Kangra, Mandi and Kullu districts, numerous liquor contracts have not been allotted. Due to the high base price, liquor contractors did not take interest in the auction process. The contracts that have been auctioned will be opened during the new financial year starting on Tuesday. The rate list of liquor to be sold in these shops will be released late on Monday night. The remaining contracts will remain closed till further decision.
There are about 2100 liquor contracts in the state. The auction of liquor contracts started on March 20. Due to the base price being very high in many districts, liquor traders are not participating in the auction process. Despite the holiday on Sunday and Monday, the Tax and Excise Department organized auctions in Shimla, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi and Bilaspur districts. Even during this period, only a few contracts were sold. Contractors did not even bid for others. The problems of departmental officials have increased due to the non-sale of liquor contracts, which give the highest revenue to the state.
It has become difficult for the department to collect revenue this year as compared to last year in Shimla, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi and Bilaspur districts. Last year, revenue of 252 crores was received from the auction of liquor contracts in Shimla district. This time the target has been set at Rs 254 crore. So far this figure has not even crossed Rs 100 crore. There has been a revenue loss of 21 crores in Kullu, 24 crores in Mandi, 4 crores in Bilaspur and 20 crores in Kangra.
Contractors are not participating in the auction due to the high base price in these districts. The Tax and Excise Department has set a target of earning about 2800 crore in revenue in the year 2025-26. There is still a shortfall of about Rs 170 crore in achieving this target. On the other hand, departmental officials said that whether the base price should be reduced due to no auction or not. A proposal has been sent to the government regarding this. Now the government will decide what decision is to be taken regarding the liquor shops that are not sold.
