Hry tweaks excise policy to ease liquor bidding process

Hindustan Times

25-05-2025

Gurugram: The Haryana Excise and Taxation department has amended key provisions of the Excise Policy 2025–27. The changes, which came into effect this week, aim to reduce the financial burden on bidders and make the policy more business-friendly, particularly for Gurugram East and West, where the bidding process had to be rescheduled due to the amendments made, officials said.
Under the revised policy, the department has lowered the total security requirement from 15% to 11% of the licence fee. Additionally, the initial security deposit at the time of bidding has been reduced from 3% to 2%, and the percentage of the licence fee required to start lifting the allotted liquor quota has also been cut from 7% to 5%. These measures are expected to ease entry barriers for potential bidders and encourage wider competition across retail zones.
Deputy excise and taxation commissioner (DETC), Gurugram West, Jitender Dudi said, 'The amendments have been introduced to create a more investor-friendly environment and enhance participation, especially from small and medium bidders who were previously constrained by high upfront deposits. We believe the new terms will strike a balance between transparency and ease of doing business.'
According to the revised schedule, the e-tendering for Gurugram West will now be held on May 26 and 27, while the Gurugram East bidding will take place on May 30 and 31. The bidding window for both zones will remain open from 9:00am to 4:00pm on the respective days, with evaluations to be carried out at 5:00pm.
Another crucial amendment allows 91% of the licence fee to be paid in monthly instalments, with the remaining 9% will be adjusted from the security amount in the last two months of the policy year. Excise department officials said this will significantly ease liquidity pressure on licence holders, who earlier faced stiff upfront payment requirements.
The Excise department has also set up help desks in both East and West Gurugram offices to assist bidders with registration and e-tendering procedures. Updated policy details are available on the official website www.haryanatax.gov.in.
The policy changes have drawn positive feedback from industry stakeholders who view them as a long-needed reform in Haryana's excise system. The department reiterated that the amendments were made in public interest and to ensure efficient implementation of the new excise policy.
Supreme Court advocate Rajeev Yadav, who has played an important role in the new policy, said that the excise department's connivance with tainted tax evasion bidders is evident. 'They have made ₹60 lakhs as the financial capability of a bidder whereas the average reserve price per zone in the east district of Gurugram is ₹40-45 crores. Black money has always been routed via liquor sales without bills and taxes and this will increase further. They indulge in black marketing and when caught then a small financial bidder (servant or peon) is blacklisted to be followed by a new fake bidder,' he said.