UP liquor shops to now introduce cashless payments
What's the story
It is now mandatory for all liquor retailers in Uttar Pradesh to install point of sale (PoS) machines to enable electronic payments through credit/debit cards, as per the new state excise policy.
Other modes of cashless transactions like NEFT, RTGS, and e-wallets will also be made available in a bid to encourage digital payments.
Here is how the policy will impact liquor business.
Information
Digital payments to keep the price in check
The idea behind going cashless is to keep a tab on cases of liquor being sold so the retailer can no longer charge more than the MRP.
Background
New excise policy to boost sale of liquor in UP
The UP state government incurred losses amounting to Rs. 5000 crore following Supreme Court's order banning all liquor shops situated along state and national highways.
Further, rampant liquor smuggling in parts of the state also affected the revenue.
To curb this and increase excise revenue, the Yogi Adityanath government introduced a new policy with a revenue target of Rs. 20,000 crore.
GPS tracking
What other changes are part of the policy?
To bring an end to liquor syndicate, the UP excise department will use trucks fitted with GPS to transport liquor.
For real time monitoring of goods, each consignment of liquor will have a unique batch number connected with the GPS.
Bringing transparency thus preventing monopoly, the bidding process would now be conducted online.
The new policy will come into effect from 1 April 2018.