Chandigarh, March 7 -- Liquor prices in Chandigarh are set to witness a marginal rise of up to 2% from April 1 as the Chandigarh administration has approved the Excise Policy for 2026-27. The new policy introduces limited price revisions while largely retaining the key provisions of last year's excise framework. The increase will apply to country liquor, Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), Indian beer and Indian wines, mainly to offset inflation and rising raw material costs. The prices of imported wines, imported beer, and imported foreign liquor will remain unchanged in the new excise year. Wine contractors' association president Darshan Singh Kler said the policy is both contractor and customer friendly. "We are thankful to the department for considering our suggestions in the policy," he said. For the 2026-27 excise year, the administration has fixed the total reserve price for 97 retail liquor vends at Rs.454.35 crore, slightly higher than Rs.444 crore the previous year. Officials said the structure of the auction system remains largely unchanged, but the revised reserve price is expected to help generate higher revenue for the UT exchequer. The excise department has projected a revenue of around Rs.950 crore for the upcoming year. A senior excise department official said that to address concerns of cartelisation raised during last year's auction, the new policy has introduced a clear definition of "family" to avoid ambiguity and potential litigation. "Last year, several liquor vends were secured by members of the same family, with nearly 30 vends going to related bidders. The revised definition will help prevent such situations and ensure greater transparency in the allotment process," the officer said. In the current excise year, the department has already collected Rs.863 crore in revenue till the end of February, against a projected target of Rs.900 crore. Of this, Rs.490 crore came from vend licence fees, which remain the department's single largest source of revenue. Official records show that excise levies contributed Rs.272 crore, followed by Rs.36 crore from various licences and Rs.33 crore from assessment fees paid by retailers. The administration has decided to retain the existing retail quota of liquor, maintaining a revenue-neutral position compared to the 2025-26 excise policy. Under the new policy, the quota for country-made liquor will be 20 lakh proof litres (4.45 lakh cases) while for imported foreign liquor (IFL), it will be 8 lakh proof litres (1.18 lakh cases). The IMFL quota has been fixed at 1.17 crore proof litres (17.40 lakh cases) annually. Officials said maintaining the same quota will help ensure stability in supply and the liquor trade in the city. The policy introduces several changes aimed at improving the ease of doing business. The requirement that custom-approved bonded warehouses must be located within Chandigarh has been relaxed. Such warehouses can now be located anywhere in India, and the earlier requirement of one year's prior experience has also been removed. To strengthen compliance, all bonded warehouses operating in Chandigarh will be required to register on the excise portal and submit monthly import and export details, improving transparency in the liquor supply chain. The policy also reintroduces the L-10B licence, allowing liquor to be sold through organised departmental stores. Officials said the move aims to enhance consumer convenience, particularly for women and senior citizens, by enabling purchases in more organised retail environments. The security deposit for retail vend licensees has been increased to 17% of the bid amount. Licensees will also be required to pay the licence fee in a single payment by the 15th of the succeeding month, replacing the earlier system of two instalments. In case of non-payment, the administration may cancel the licence and initiate recovery proceedings as per law. The policy also mandates installation of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras at additional godowns of retail vends with live feed access to the department. Additionally, all vehicles transporting liquor for import, export or local supply will have to be equipped with GPS-tracking systems to improve monitoring. Other changes include increasing the working days for bottling plants from five to six days a week and deploying security personnel at bottling plants and CCTV control rooms. Cow cess will continue at existing rates. Officials said the revised policy aims to strengthen regulation, enhance transparency and ensure stable revenue generation while maintaining consumer convenience and a stable liquor trade in the city....