PANAJI
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India has found that the Excise Department short-levied excise duty and health surcharge totalling Rs 60.28 lakh after an Assessing Authority applied a lower Maximum Retail Price (MRP) slab to a liquor manufacturer in violation of government rules.
The audit also pointed out lapses amounting to Rs 7.34 crore across seven units, from unpaid bottling fees to non-levied duties and expired licence.
The CAG report for the period ending March 31, 2023, tabled in the Goa Legislative Assembly on Friday, stated that the lapse occurred despite explicit instructions issued through notifications in November 2008 that all liquor pack sizes, whether below or above 750 ml, must be converted to the 750 ml benchmark for determining the MRP slab.
“The highest MRP arrived at, after converting each pack size to 750 ml, is to be considered for levy of excise duty,” the audit noted, adding that Goa government also mandated a two per cent health surcharge from May 2020.
During scrutiny carried out in February 2024, the CAG found that the Assessing Authority had incorrectly determined a lower MRP slab of two different rates of excise duty for two different volumes, though a single rate of excise duty was applicable on the highest MRP derived after conversion.
“This incorrect determination of MRP slab for 2021-22 and 2022-23 resulted in a short levy of Rs 59.10 lakh in excise duty and Rs 1.18 lakh in health surcharge,” the report mentioned, and called for immediate recovery of the amount from the manufacturer.
“Action to recover the short-levied amount of Rs 60.28 lakh from M/s Agave Industries Pvt Ltd by the department needs to be initiated,” it added.
The CAG also pointed to wider lapses across the Excise Department after test-checking seven of the 12 auditable units during 2022-23. These units had 9,931 licensees, of which records of 673 were examined.
“Non-payment of minimum bottling fee, application of incorrect licence fee on a hotel, non-levy of excise duty on old stock lying idle for more than three years in a bonded warehouse, non-renewal of licences of distilleries, non-levy of surcharge on the licence fee on FL retailers, and delay in disposal of confiscated liquor goods,” the report observed stating these lapses together amount to Rs 7.34 crore.
