No scam in excise department, more revenue generated than previous years in 1st quarter of 2020: Dushyant

Haryana deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala on Thursday said the revenue state excise department generated during the Covid-19 crisis was more than ever in the first quarter of the year.

Reacting to the allegations of scam in excise department, Dushyant, who also holds the excise and taxation portfolio, said the department has made a new record in the excise duty collection.

“The excise department has never made such a high revenue collection as during the Covid-19 crisis, which reflects that there is no scam,” the deputy CM said in a news conference.

“Since the formation of the state till today, it is for the first time in this year that the government has collected additional excise duty of more than Rs 27 crore in the first quarter,” he added.

Dushyant said the new excise policy could not be implemented in the state from April 1 due to the lockdown. The state government gave permission to open liquor vends from May 5 under ‘Unlock 1’. The cabinet has amended the policy and decided to implement it till May 5, 2021.

The deputy CM said GPS tracking devices would be installed in the vehicles coming out of distilleries. He said by the end of September, all distilleries will have surveillance cameras.

He said that during the lockdown, an inquiry has been conducted against the officers issuing permits and passes from March 27 to March 31 and action will be taken against those found guilty as soon as the investigation is completed.

He said in yet another first, an additional retail license fee of Rs 62 crore was received in the first quarter.

The deputy CM said during the pandemic, the state government has imposed ‘Covid’ cess on liquor. In the first three months of implementing the cess, the excise department has earned Rs 75 crore, he added.