Chandigarh: A liquor vend in Palsora fetched a record-breaking Rs 16 crore against a reserve price of Rs 11.41 cr as Chandigarh administration successfully sold 83 liquor vends of the 97 vends up for auction.The second-highest bid is of Rs 12.27 cr against a reserve price of Rs 9.62 cr for Dhanas vend, and the third-highest bid is of Rs 11.52 cr against a reserve price of Rs 8.21 cr for location Sector 61.In the first opening of e-tenders after operationalisation of the new policy for the excise policy year 2026-27 on Thursday at Hotel Mountview, Sector 10, the UT excise department collected a total revenue of Rs 496.81 crore in the shape of licence fees, registering an increase of approximately 29% over the reserve price, and received Rs 3.9 crore in the shape of participation fee.The department received a total of 195 tenders/bids electronically against 84 licensing units out of a total of 97 licensing units; however, the one single bidder against LU-77 could not be technically qualified. The reserve price of 83 licensing units is Rs 385.24 crore.The tendering process for the remaining 14 licensing units has been initiated.In light of the overwhelming response from bidders, the department is well placed to complete the allotment of the remaining vends successfully and is likely to realise revenues significantly exceeding the fixed reserve price, thereby substantially advancing the achievement of its revenue targets,” said a department official.Meanwhile, Darshan Singh Kler, president, Wine Contractors Association Chandigarh, submitted a representation to the excise and taxation commissioner, UT, against “illegal acceptance of bid documents after the prescribed cut-off time, and violation of Clause 14 of the Excise Policy 2026-27, by some of the participating bidders.”On the allegations of bid-related documents being taken manually, the department spokesperson stated, “All the bidders submitted their bids online and no manual bids were accepted. The Excise Policy also attempted to curb the cartelisation and monopolies by restricting allotment to a single person/entity/family/company/firm up to a maximum of 10 licensing units only as per provisions of the Excise Policy.”BOXBOX2: TOP SELLERS LAST SIX YEARS**Year | Vend | Reserve Price | Bid2026 | Palsora | Rs 11.41 cr | Rs 16.71 cr2025 | Palsora | Rs 10.22 cr | Rs 14 cr2024 | Dhanas | Rs 8.33 cr | Rs 9.18 cr2023 | Palsora | Rs 9.60 cr | Rs 11.65 cr2022 | Dhanas | Rs 10.39 cr | Rs 12.78 cr2021 | Dhanas | Rs 7.95 cr | Rs 11.55 cr
