It is a city that, by every official measure, drinks more than most — home to barely 12.5 lakh people but a liquor market that has generated nearly Rs 4,000 crore in excise revenue over five years and guzzled 13 crore bottles, drinking five times the national average when adjusted for population. This year, Chandigarh has 96 liquor vends already selling — the highest number in six years — with the 97th on the way. Excise revenue has crossed the Rs 1,000-crore mark for the first time ever.
And yet, when the Chandigarh Administration quietly re-opened the door for departmental stores to sell liquor off their shelves this April — an idea partly meant to make the transaction less awkward, particularly for women and senior citizens — barely anyone in the city’s organised retail trade walked through it.
Just three stores said yes.
THREE BRAVE, THE REST ABSENT
The L-10B licence, re-introduced under the Excise Policy 2026-27 after a gap of several years, permits retail sale of imported foreign liquor, imported beer, imported wine and Indian wine from departmental stores — in markets, malls or similar outlets. The stated aim was to offer a modern, regulated, stigma-free retail environment as an alternative to standing-queue liquor vends.
The annual licence fee is Rs 30 lakh. The L-10B licensee must procure all supplies exclusively from authorised Chandigarh suppliers.
Since April 1, when the licences became available, three outlets have taken them up: Punjab Store (SCF 15, Sector 9-D), Empire Stores (SCO 10, Sector 17-E), and ABN Stores (SCF 18, Sector 9-D Inner Market).
The rest of the city’s retail trade stayed away. Store owners who declined cited two reasons: the Rs 30-lakh annual fee is steep for margins on a sideline product, and some feared losing regular customers — families, in particular — uncomfortable with liquor on display alongside groceries and daily essentials.
“The re-introduction of the L-10B licence is designed to ensure a dignified, accessible and quality-driven retail experience for consumers, especially those who find a standalone vend intimidating,” said Nishant Kumar Yadav, Deputy Commissioner and Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Chandigarh. “We expect more stores to come forward over the course of the year as awareness grows.”
VENDS BOOM: A SIX-YEAR HIGH
The thin turnout at departmental stores stands in sharp contrast to Chandigarh’s conventional liquor vend network, which has never been busier. Of the 97 retail sale vends (L-2/L-14) put to auction for 2026-27, 96 have been successfully allotted as of May 12 — with the one remaining vend still being processed. When that goes through, the city will have 97 operational vends, the highest in at least six years.
The auction premium tells an even sharper story. Against a reserve price of Rs 450 crore, bids for the 96 allotted vends came in at Rs 560.85 crore — a 24.63 per cent premium. Just a year ago, 91 of 97 vends were auctioned at a 15.86 per cent premium. In 2023-24, only 77 of 95 vends found buyers, at a thin 6.77 per cent above reserve. The trajectory has been relentless.
EXCISE CROSSES RS 1,000 CRORE FOR THE FIRST TIME
The vend surge has done its work on the revenue ledger. Total excise collections for 2025-26 crossed Rs 1,000 crore for the first time in Chandigarh’s history, reaching Rs 1,009.25 crore against the Finance Department’s target of Rs 1,000 crore. The progression has been steep: Rs 738.53 crore in 2023-24, Rs 801.14 crore in 2024-25 and now over a thousand crore in 2025-26.
If April 2026 — the first month of the current fiscal — is any guide, the city is well positioned to shatter even that milestone this year. Excise collections in April 2026 alone stood at Rs 100.77 crore. At that monthly run-rate, Chandigarh could clock over Rs 1,200 crore in 2026-27, comfortably beating its Rs 1,000-crore target.
Yadav attributed the record to a combination of tighter enforcement, technology-driven compliance, and a policy architecture that made legitimate business attractive. “The results speak for themselves. Every mechanism — from Track and Trace on liquor bottles to GPS on transport vehicles, CCTV at vends and bottling plants, real-time stock monitoring through Excise Online Software and auto-renewal of licences — has contributed to building a leak-proof, transparent and competitive excise ecosystem,” the DC-cum-ETC told The Tribune.
YEAR-WISE EXCISE REVENUE
Year Target (Rs cr) Revenue (Rs cr)
2023-24 930 738.53
2024-25 950 801.14
2025-26 1,000 1,009.25
2026-27* 1,000 100.77
(*April 2026 only)
POLICY TIGHTENS EVERY LINK IN THE CHAIN
The Excise Policy 2026-27 has introduced a series of compliance and enforcement measures aimed at sealing the system. A mandatory Track and Trace system with holograms monitors the movement of every bottle from bottling plant to consumer, preventing counterfeit liquor from entering the chain. All liquor transport vehicles must now carry GPS devices for real-time tracking. CCTV cameras with 30-day recording backup are compulsory at all bottling plants, retail vends and additional godowns, with live feed access to the Excise and Taxation Department round the clock.
Bottling plant licensees (BWH-2) must get liquor and beer quality-tested from a government-approved laboratory every quarter. Bar licensees — clubs, hotels, restaurants — can now source supplies only from the two nearest vends. Inter-vend stock transfer has been permitted between vends under a single entity, against a transfer fee.
Of 11 bottling plant licences, one held by M/s Cooperative Company Ltd has been cancelled; eight of the remaining ten are currently operational. During 2025-26, enforcement teams conducted 62 inspections of bottling plants, 662 of retail vends, 419 of L-1 suppliers and 441 of bars, initiating breach proceedings and recovering penalties exceeding Rs 60 lakh across all categories.
Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria, reviewing the excise performance, has lauded the record revenue while stressing that growth and governance must march together.
“Chandigarh’s record excise performance is a testament to transparent, technology-driven and people-friendly administration. The policy has been crafted to maximise revenue while safeguarding ease of business and consumer interest,” the Governor told The Tribune, adding that the Administration will maintain zero tolerance for illicit trade and that any licensee found in breach of norms would face swift and exemplary action.
A CITY THAT DRINKS MORE THAN MOST
The numbers, however they are sliced, tell a singular story. Chandigarh — a planned city of 12.5 lakh people that also serves as the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana — has sold 13 crore bottles over the past five years and generated nearly Rs 4,000 crore in excise revenue. It ranks 22nd nationally in overall liquor volume but, population-adjusted, towers above every major state — drinking five times the national average.
For a city of that appetite, three departmental stores with liquor on the shelf are barely a beginning. The administration is betting that the number will grow. Whether it does may say something not just about Chandigarh’s retail trade, but about how comfortable it remains — even in 2026 — with liquor sitting next to the bread and milk.
