84 pc of sanctioned posts vacant in Excise Dept
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, March 10 2026:
It may sound strange and incredible but 83.73 per cent of the total sanctioned posts is lying vacant in Excise Department.
On the other hand, with the lifting of the Manipur Liquor Prohibition Act 1991 from some areas, the Excise Department issued liquor licences to one bonded warehouse, one wholesaler and four retail shops for selling liquor including beer during the financial year 2025-26 .
The Excise Department which has a total sanctioned posts of 707 is being run by just 115 staff.
Incidentally, during the last five years, the Excise Department collected the highest revenue in 2025-26 .
According to official sources, the Excise Department has a total sanctioned post of 707 including three cadre posts of Commissioner, Additional Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner.
There is also one post of Superintendent.
There are five sanctioned posts of Deputy Superintendents and all the five posts are currently vacant.
The department has 47 sanctioned posts of Inspectors but there are only four Inspectors at present while the remaining 43 are vacant.
The total sanctioned posts for Sub-Inspectors is 88 but 71 are vacant.
Likewise, 52 out of 120 total sanctioned posts for Assistant Sub-Inspectors are currently vacant.
Only 17 Constables are working at the Excise Department at present against the total sanctioned posts of 414 which means 397 posts are vacant.
Moreover, one post of Head Clerk, one post of Accountant, 11 posts of LDC, one post Stenographer (III), one post of Mali and one post of Chowkidar are all vacant.
Four posts of UDC (against the total sanctioned post of seven) and four posts of Driver (against the total sanctioned post of six) are also vacant.
Even though the Manipur Liquor Prohibition Act 1991 was lifted from some areas on December 6, 2023, the Act remains in force in most areas.
At the same time, no official permission has been given to the local liquor brewed in the State.
As such, sale of local or distilled indigenous country liquor is still prohibited.
However, the Excise Department is unable to enforce the Manipur Liquor Prohibition Act effectively as it is suffering from acute shortage of staff, said the sources.
Nonetheless, the sources said that the Government has been planning to recruit 22 Inspectors, 22 Sub-Inspectors, 300 Constables, 10 LDCs and four drivers on contract basis.
The Excise Department is divided into three circles viz; Imphal, Thoubal and Bishnupur, and there are 41 excise stations in the three circles.
There are 65 liquor licence holders in Manipur and they belong to different units of army, paramilitary forces and State forces.
During 2025-26, the Excise Department issued licences to one bonded warehouse, one wholesaler and four retail shops for selling liquor and beer.
During the same year, 16 firms applied for supplying IMFL/beer to the State and they registered 51 brands.
Notably, the Excise Department is one of the departments which have been collecting the highest revenue.
Excise duty applied to liquor imported for military, paramilitary forces and State armed forces has been a substantial source of revenue for the State.
The department has also been earning substantial revenue from fines imposed on violators of Manipur Liquor Prohibition Act 1991, issuance and renewal of licences for selling liquor, rectified spirit and NDPS drugs, said the sources.
Against the target of collecting a revenue of Rs 18 crore in 2025-26, the department has already collected Rs 25.939 crore.
The department was also able to collect Rs 23.783 crore in 2024-25 against the target of Rs 18 crore.
According to a gazette notification published on December 6, 2023, the Manipur Liquor Prohibition Act 1991 has been relaxed in the greater Imphal areas, district headquarters, tourist locations and registered hotels having at least 20 beds.
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