App for liquor sales gets Goa Forward Party charged up

PANAJI: A message informing liquor retailers and wholesale vendors that they have an option to submit data on daily alcohol sales through the excise department’s app drew the ire of Goa Forward Party (GFP), which accused the government of harassing small-time businessmen.
According to the existing excise rules, every bar, restaurant, liquor retailer and wholesale liquor vendor has to maintain a daily record of the number of alcohol bottles sold.
Excise commissioner Amit Satija said that while most establishments maintain the record manually, the department had developed and released an app six months back to allow establishments to keep a digital record.
“We sent an SMS to all the excise licence holders informing them of the option of providing data via the app. The message is not for restaurants and bars but for retail and wholesale shops,” said Satija.
However, GFP general secretary Prashant Naik said that the move was a way to harass small liquor traders and bar owners.
Meanwhile, Goa Liqour Traders Association has backed the app by saying that the app will streamline the collection of data on alcohol sales in the state.