NEW DELHI: The Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police has started an investigation into the Delhi government’s alleged violations of tender conditions of its new liquor policy for 2021-22. The office of the Assistant Commissioner of Police, EOW, has issued a notice to the state’s excise commissioner asking him to provide all documents relating to the award of liquor licences under the new policy.
The Delhi Police investigation has come close to L-G V K Saxena ordering a CBI probe into the matter. The L-G has also separately asked the chief secretary to probe allegations of cartelisation, creation of monopolies and favours granted to blacklisted firms in the liquor trade by the AAP government.
The EOW letter to the assistant commissioner of excise informs him about his department’s “enquiry into the complaint on the illegal distribution of liquor licences to companies violating terms and conditions of the New excise Policy 2021-22 by the Delhi government” and asks him to provide all the related documents.
The EOW has asked the excise commissioner to provide “the application forms of all successful bidders (of all 32 zones) along with other relevant documents submitted for grant of liquor licence” under the new policy along with the DIN/TIN numbers of all the successful applicants.
The excise department has also been asked to explain “what procedure was followed to check monopolies and cartels of successful applicants…” and “whether any SOP was prepared to check monopolies and cartels of successful applicants…”. It has been asked if it had “issued any show-cause notice for cancellation of the licence granted to any applicant or cancelled licence under New Excise Policy 2021-22”.
The government had brought in a new excise policy late last year with the stated objective of boosting the state’s revenue and cleaning up the liquor trade. The policy, however, has come under severe attack, especially by the liquor retailers who say it favours wholesalers who have been allowed to pick and choose retailers while offering rebates and promotional discounts.
This, they say, has driven a large number of retailers out of business as they are not able to match the heavily discounted prices of those who receive wholesaler rebates. Ten out of the 32 zonal licensees have surrendered or refused to renew their licences.