To curb illegal activities, corruption Assam excise department directs all DCs to use IPC sections against excise offences

Recently, Assam excise commissioner had sent a letter to the deputy commissioners of the state and directed them to ask the district excise officials to lodge FIRs for such kind of excise offences under relevant IPC sections.

In the letter, Assam excise Commissioner Rakesh Kumar said the Assam Excise Act, 2000 and the Assam Excise Rules, 2016 are not sufficient to hinder such crimes and excise offences have increased tremendously in the state in recent periods.

"Several government agencies including Bureau of Investigation Economic Offences (BIEO), Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Assam Police and excise department have conducted several raids and seized huge quantity of liquor with fake labels in unauthorised godowns. The modus operandi in such offences is use of fake labels and bottles etc. on liquor bottles smuggled from Arunachal Pradesh and sold it in the local markets. All such offences are bailable under the present Assam Excise Act, 2000. Therefore you are requested to direct the Superintendents, Deputy Superintendents and Inspectors of the excise department to lodge FIRs in local police stations under relevant IPC sections," the excise Commissioner said in the letter.

The excise Commissioner said in the letter that, in respect of defalcation of government revenue, the offence of cheating under section 420 can be incorporated.

"The offences under the Assam Excise Act, 2000 and Assam Excise Rules, 2016 can be clubbed with the offences of criminal breach of trust under sections 406 and 409 of the IPC. In the relevant anybody found to have indulged in forgery, under section 468 of the IPC also gets attracted. Further, if it is found that two or more persons are involved in any illegal act such offenders can additionally be booked under Section 120B for criminal conspiracy. The excise offences shall also be registered separately by excise officials as per the Assam Excise Act, 2000," Rakesh Kumar said in the letter.

Recently, the RT Jindal committee had submitted some recommendations to escalate the state excise department and also to increase its revenue collection.

Following the recommendations by the committee, the state excise department had formulated a set of stringer rules to curb illegal activities, corruption following directive by excise minister Parimal Suklabaidya.
Despite of some raids conducted by the Assam excise department and other investigation agencies against the illicit liquor traders in various locations of the state, liquor mafia, gangs continued its illegal trade with the help of some corrupted officials in the state.

A top official of Assam excise department said that, the liquor mafia, gangs had sold illicit liquor worth of Rs 100 crore in the state every month, which were flooding from the neighbouring states like Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya.

The revenue collection of the department has gradually increased as excise revenue gone up by over Rs 150 crore in fiscal 2016-17 compared to 2015-16.

The department had collected Rs 799.53 crore revenue while it jumped to Rs 966.33 crore in 2016-17 and set target to collection Rs 1400 crore in the current fiscal.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)