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Time of India
3 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
At Rs 98 crore revenue, Bristol Chowk is Haryana's costliest liquor zone
GURGAON: Haryana's revenue from liquor licence in one zone of the city - Bristol Chowk on the upscale Golf Course Road - has touched nearly Rs 100 crore, making it the costliest-ever excise auction in the state. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now On Saturday, the licence went for Rs 98.6 crore, a 4.2% increase from its reserve price of Rs 94.6 crore. The bid was won by the sole applicant - a firm called G-Town Wines, which is permitted to open a maximum of two vends in the zone. In the last excise policy for financial year 2024-25, Bristol Chowk was auctioned for almost half the amount of the latest bid, at Rs 49.3 crore. Officials told TOI Sunday the reserve price for this coveted zone was nearly doubled for the latest excise policy as it will be applicable for 22 months - from June 2025 to March 2027 - up from 12 months earlier. Until now, the excise policy was applicable for 12 months and the licence fee was charged for a year. With the new policy, the duration for the licence fee has also increased," the official said. Reserve price is the minimum amount that an entity can bid for while trying to get a liquor licence. DLF-3, auctioned for Rs 63 crore (against reserve price of Rs 60 crore), clinched the second spot in highest bids after Bristol Chowk, followed by Shankar Chowk, which went for Rs 62 crore (same as its reserve price). While Bristol Chowk is part of Gurgaon's West excise zone, auctioned over the last weekend, the other two were included in the city's East zone, the bidding process for which was held earlier last week. "Fifty out of 79 zones in Gurgaon East were auctioned over the weekend. Govt made revenue of Rs 1,270 crore, almost 6% higher than the combined reserve price of Rs 1,198 crore set for these zones," said Amit Bhatia, deputy excise and taxation commissioner (DETC). Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Horizon Plaza went for Rs 46.2 crore in the latest auction, just marginally higher than its reserve price, but the second highest amount to be bid for in the Gurgaon East zone. There weren't any major deviations from reserve prices in bids for Signature Tower, World Mark and Jalsa. The zones that added to govt's estimated earnings from liquor licences were Nawada, auctioned for a bid that was 30% higher than the reserve price, South City (+25%), American Express on Southern Peripheral Road (+24.3%), Badshapur (+20.9%), Sikohpur (+20.5%), Kankrola (+20.5%), Sohna Road (+16.9%), and Banni Square (+12%). Bhatia said the 21 remaining zones out of 83 in Gurgaon West will be auctioned on June 3, and the same will be carried out for the remaining 29 zones in Gurgaon East on June 5. "The department received a better response in the third round of the excise auction compared to the previous round, indicating widespread participation in the zone auction process and a positive response to the state's excise policy," he added. Gurgaon makes up for around 35-40% of Haryana's excise revenue. The state cabinet on May 5 approved the new liquor policy for 2025-2027, which introduced earlier closing hours for urban vendors, bans on live performances in ahatas and halting the sale of alcohol in villages with a population under 500. The govt also set an ambitious financial goal, targeting revenue of Rs 14,064 crore this time. Collections reached Rs 11,491 crore, about 90% of the targeted Rs 12,650 crore in FY 2024-25.
Hindustan Times
25-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Hry tweaks excise policy to ease liquor bidding process
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 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.
