Govt flags 'paperwork delay' in illegal liquor cases
New Delhi: The Excise Department of the Delhi government has now shot off a letter to the Delhi Police, raising their grievance that paperwork in cases related to violations of the Excise Act and illegal liquor was being delayed and sought that such paperwork be completed within a deadline for a speedy resolution of the process.
The office of Commissioner of Excise, Entertainment and Luxury taxes, Delhi Government has written to Delhi Police regarding providing production reports of case property and compliance report of notices which were issued under Delhi Excise Act 2009.
As per sources, the Excise department informed the city police that a large number of vehicles are seized, confiscated under section 58 of the Delhi Excise Act 2009 which are found involved in the supply of illicit liquor and are lying with concerned police stations for further disposal for months on end, which was resulting in the value of the property depreciating.
"Such delays also cause the vehicles to occupy the space for a longer time in concerned police stations," the department told city police.
The department has decided that the production report beyond one month time from the date of seizing of case property under section 33 of Delhi Excise Act 2009 shall only be accepted in the department with the approval of the DCP concerned. But an official in city police told Millennium Post that in such cases, they inform the Excise department about such vehicles within 30 days of seizure.
The department further told Delhi Police that they have also noticed that compliance reports of service of notices issued under section 59 of Delhi Excise Act 2009 are not received timely from concerned police stations despite given sufficient time to serve the notices to the owners of vehicles seized by Delhi Police under sections 33, 58 of Delhi Excise Act 2009 which cause undue delay in taking decisions in these cases. In such matters, the department has already issued letters to DCPs in 2009 and 2020.
Delhi Police registered 5,186 cases under Excise Act last year and recovered 6,33,549 bottles of country-made liquor, 62,425 bottles of IMFL and 14,176 bottles of beer along with arresting 5,660 people.
