The first e-auction under Chandigarh’s Excise Policy 2025-26 saw a liquor vend in Palsora village, near Mohali, securing the highest bid of ₹14 crore. The bid exceeded its reserve price of ₹10.22 crore, highlighting the strong interest in the auction.
The UT Excise and Taxation Department received 228 online bids for 96 out of 97 available liquor vends, with the only exception being the vend in Sector 20, which remained unsold. The auction generated a total revenue of ₹606.43 crore, which includes the licence fee and a ₹4.56 crore participation fee. This figure is 36% higher than the reserve price of ₹439.29 crore.
Officials credit the positive response to new provisions in the policy, such as allowing bars to purchase liquor from retail vends and enabling stock transfers between vends under the same ownership. Unlike previous years, all bids were submitted online, eliminating manual submissions to ensure transparency. The policy also aims to prevent monopolies by limiting a single company, entity, or person to a maximum of 10 licensing units.
Ajay Jagga, an Excise and Taxation advocate and member of the Administrator’s Advisory Council, praised the policy’s efficiency, calling it a success in fostering fair competition and maximizing government revenue. However, local liquor vendors have raised concerns.
Darshan Singh Kler, president of the Chandigarh Wine Contract Association, claimed that the auction process was not followed correctly. He alleged that instead of distributing contracts among various bidders, most vends were given to a single firm from Madhya Pradesh, which could create a monopoly and drive up liquor prices. Officials, however, denied any irregularities, reiterating that the policy explicitly limits allotments to prevent cartelization.
