Himachal Pradesh News
Audit Flags ₹9.71-Crore Liquor Pilferage in Himachal: Major Gaps Found in 4 Districts
A CAG audit has uncovered suspected liquor pilferage worth ₹9.71 crore across four Himachal districts due to major mismatches between wholesale sales and retail lifting during 2021–22. The report cites weak reconciliation systems and calls for real-time verification.
Suspected liquor pilferage worth ₹9.71 crore has surfaced in four districts of Himachal Pradesh after a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit highlighted major discrepancies between the quantities sold by wholesalers and those lifted by retailers during the financial year 2021–22. The findings, part of the CAG report for the period ending March 2022, were tabled in the Vidhan Sabha last week.
A review of records in the offices of the Deputy Excise Commissioners in Shimla, Una, Baddi (Solan) and Nurpur (Kangra) revealed mismatches across all categories — Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), Country Liquor (CL) and beer.
According to the audit, retailers lifted 54.31 lakh proof litres of IMFL against 55.57 lakh proof litres sold by wholesalers, 71.17 lakh proof litres of CL against 72.54 lakh proof litres sold, and 44 lakh bulk litres of beer compared with wholesale sales of 45.15 lakh bulk litres.
The shortfall — 1.26 lakh proof litres of IMFL, 1.38 lakh proof litres of CL and 1.16 lakh bulk litres of beer — has been treated as suspected pilferage. The audit noted that the absence of a system to cross-verify dispatches from wholesalers with receipts at retail vends created scope for diversion and revenue loss.
Under the excise policy for 2021–22, retailers were required to procure CL only through designated L-13 wholesale vends, while IMFL and beer were to be supplied exclusively through L-1 licensees. Retailers could lift stock only after depositing the requisite licence fee and obtaining excise passes.
Despite these controls, the audit found that the excise department lacked a consolidated mechanism to reconcile wholesale transactions with retail lifting, enabling potential leakage.
When the discrepancies were pointed out, Deputy Excise Commissioners informed auditors between September 2021 and February 2022 that reconciliation would be undertaken. A later communication in March 2023 reported recovery of ₹15.38 lakh in two districts. However, full reconciliation and details of further action were still pending. The audit findings were sent to the state government in December 2022, but no response had been received as of January 2025.
The CAG has recommended that the excise department establish a robust, real-time system to verify quantities sold and lifted, ensuring tighter control and protecting government revenue.
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