The Delhi government suffered a revenue loss of more than Rs 2,000 crore because of the now-scrapped 2021-22 excise policy, as per the CAG audit report tabled in the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday. The losses were mainly due to a weak policy and poor implementation, the report said. The report is one of the 14 CAG reports that were to be tabled in the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s performance. The report was shared by the new administration led by Rekha Gupta.
The report also pointed out violations in the licensing process and mentioned that suggestions from an expert panel for improving the policy were ignored by the then deputy chief minister and excise minister, Manish Sisodia.
The CAG report presented in the assembly said that the Delhi excise policy of 2021-22 was meant to make the liquor trade simpler, increase transparency, reduce monopoly, raise more revenue, and improve customer experience. However, the policy didn’t achieve these goals.
The report said that the new policy had problems, such as exclusive agreements between manufacturers and wholesalers, and a rule that created retail zones with a minimum of 27 wards in each zone. This limited the number of licenses and increased the chances of monopoly and unfair practices.
It also pointed out that the Excise Department did not properly check the financial strength, management skills, and ability of companies to stay in business.
The CAG report also mentioned that important steps planned in the policy, like setting up liquor testing labs, checking the quality of liquor, and improving monitoring, were not carried out.
In his address to the assembly, Delhi LG VK Saxena said that the report would reveal the mistakes of the previous government and help improve things going forward.
(With ANI Updates)