New Commissioner of Excise in Manipur Ravinder Singh on Wednesday said every year on an average in the State, around Rs 9 crore is collected by the Excise Department, which is not much below the target of around Rs 11 crore.
On the implementation of prohibition act in the State, Singh said, 2,893 cases of illegal liquor, beer and wine were confiscated and destroyed compounding a fine of Rs 38,63,700 in the last financial year.
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The top official of State Excise Department, Manipur, is going to update the rate of excise duty levied on liquor procured and used by military and paramilitary forces deployed in the state and the state armed forces which are exempted from prohibition.
Addressing the newsmen, Ravinder said, the current rate of excise duty which was finalised in 2010 is very low and therefore, it has to be updated as the update of the excise duty on Indian made foreign liquor for military.
He said, due to low rate of the duty, revenue collection is also low comparing with other forms of revenue collection in the state. The primary responsibility of the department is to enforce prohibition under the Manipur Liquor Prohibition Act, 1991 and collect revenue in the form of compounding/fine as well as levy and collect taxes as provided in the concerned acts.
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Singh further said that the main source of revenue collection is the excise duty on the liquor procured and used by military and paramilitary forces deployed in the state and the state armed forces which are exempted from prohibition. Under the prohibition, the department, with the cooperation of police and civil society organisations, has been conducting raids at different places and confiscated cases of liquor amounting to lakhs of rupees every year.
On structural set up of the department, Ravinder Singh said, there are 39 excise stations under three circles – Imphal, Thoubal and Bishnupur spreading all over the state. On manpower shortage of the department, the Commissioner said, out of 704 sanctioned posts, only 315 staffs are working in the department as of now.
It has also to be mended and therefore, a proposal was also submitted to the government in this regard.
Once it is strengthened, activities can be enhanced and also revenue collection can be increased. He appealed to the people to cooperate with the department to ensure a full proof prohibition of liquor in the state.
Superintendent of Excise, Th Shyamson Singh and Nodal Officer of the department Y Ranjit Singh also said, awareness programmes on liquor prohibition will be organised with the help of civil society organisations in the State.