Liquor smuggling a menace

The answer is uniform excise duties

Smuggling of liquor from Haryana to neighbouring Punjab is fast becoming an alternative vocation. Thanks to the variations offered by the excise policy of the two states, smugglers earn 40 per cent profit by disgorging Haryanamade alcohol brands into Punjab. The Tribune has reported that the lure of quick bucks has led to another disturbing social trend — susceptible villagers, too, are willing to be recruited in this smuggling racket in return for a commission. Reportedly, criminal activity is the byproduct of the encouragement by some rogue liquor distilling companies who have sensed the opportunity to make a killing in this trade. The character of what was a petty offence is transmogrifying into organised crime.

It will be futile to blame the porous border between the two states for the flourishing illicit liquor trade. Punjab and Haryana have close socio-economic ties along with heavy intra-state traffic, making it tough to “seal” the border in normal times. The problem and the solution lie in the variation in excise duties. Liquor in Punjab is expensive because of a significantly higher excise duty than Haryana. The states need to re-summon the spirit of consensus and deal-making that actualised GST in other items. States need to have a uniform levy instead of incentivising bootleggers through a duty differential.

The Tribune, September 7