Chandigarh excise dept’s track and trace system for liquor falls flat
Through the excise policy, for the first time, the Chandigarh excise department had decided to implement a track and trace system to effectively monitor the entire supply chain of liquor production, distribution and retail
Over two months after implementation of the UT Excise Policy for FY 2024-25, the Chandigarh excise and taxation department has failed to implement the much-touted track and trace system to check liquor smuggling.
Through the excise policy, for the first time, the department had decided to implement a track and trace system to effectively monitor the entire supply chain of liquor production, distribution and retail.
The tracking will begin at the production stage, where each liquor bottle is assigned a unique QR code. Each bottle, as well as the case, would carry unique QR and bar codes, which can be scanned to verify the source and track the movement of liquor.
Though the department had invited bidders for the implementation of the system on April 8, no bidder came forward. Now, another tender has been floated, with a pre-bid meeting scheduled for June 19. The applications have been invited by July 1.
The department has even developed a mobile app, which will help check the authenticity of the liquor bottle by scanning the QR code.
The department’s plan in 2017 to introduce barcodes and batch numbers on liquor bottles and cartons to rein in smuggling of liquor from Chandigarh had also failed to take off. Smuggling of Chandigarh liquor to Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Gujarat has always remained an issue due to the low cost of liquor in the Union territory.
