Panaji: With govt set to roll out the deposit refund scheme (DRS) from April, the excise department made it compulsory for all liquor bottles sold in the state to carry high-security, tamper-resistant stickers with QR codes to track the bottles. The QR codes will provide a digital track-and-trace mechanism for authorities to process refunds as well as track the source of the purchase.According to a notification published in the official gazette, the amendment to the Goa Excise Duty Rules, 1964, applies to manufacturers of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), wine, beer and country liquor, bottling units, as well as importers supplying packaged liquor to Goa from other states or from abroad.No bottle will be permitted to leave a manufacturing unit, bottling unit, warehouse or licensed premises without one of these labels affixed to it, said Naresh Gaude, under secretary for finance, in the notification.The DRS system will require buyers to pay a deposit of Rs 10 when buying an alcohol bottle or can, which can be claimed back from pre-determined recycling points upon returning the bottle or can. The Goa DRS administration committee fixed Saturday as the deadline for all alcohol manufacturers and distributors to register under the scheme.The excise commissioner will procure the labels centrally from a designated agency on behalf of all manufacturers, bottlers and importers. Licensees will not be permitted to claim any wastage allowance. Every lost or damaged label will attract a wastage regulatory fee, stated the notification issued by Gaude.Importers have been given the option of affixing the labels either at the manufacturer’s end before the consignment leaves, or at their own warehouse or licensed premises within Goa.The rules also empower the excise commissioner, with prior govt approval, to roll out the system in phases across different categories of liquor, pack sizes, manufacturers and geographic areas, and to eventually integrate the QR code data with any deposit refund scheme, potentially replacing separate DRS labels over time.
