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Chief Minister Rekha Gupta tabled the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report titled 'Performance Audit on Regulation and Supply of Liquor in Delhi' in the assembly on February 25. The report highlights lapses in the implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy, which has led to a loss of approximately ₹ 2,002 crores to the government. The CAG report , accessed by Mint ,sayd that while the common man bore the cost, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders received ‘kickbacks’.
It also points out the glaring lapses, policy violations, and questionable decisions favouring certain entities while sidelining due process. The report mentions the issues in the excise policy in A)four years between 2017 and 2021. Among the issues that the summary of the report highlights include, violation in award of licenses, lack of transparency in pricing of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), inadequate quality control, weak regulatory functioning, poor execution of enforcement function and lacunae in end to end tracking of inventory.
The report also mentions B) issues in the new excise policy (2021-22). The report highlights issues including infirmities in formation of the excise policy, issues and design in awarding licenses, and issues of implementing the excise policy, among others. “Despite being mentioned in the conditions of tender document that any commercial risk shall lie with the licensee, clarification provided during the pre-bid meeting that there is no provision for force majeure and against the opinion of the excise department to relax the license fees, a waiver of license fees of ₹ 144 crore was granted to the zonal licenses on the basis of COVID restrictions (December 28, 2021 to Janaury 27, 2022) resulting in loss of revenue to the government,” reads the report.
The Delhi Excise Policy, introduced in November 2021, was pitched as a game-changer for Delhi’s liquor market. However, the policy faced criticism amid allegations of corruption and financial irregularities. Top AAP leaders in the Delhi government, including Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, were arrested in the case and eventually released on bail.
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