Manpower shortage curtails Excise Dept activities
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, April 25 2018: Acute shortage in manpower and other required needs in the Excise Department is hampering normal duty assigned to its officials.

The department is having a shortfall of 389 staff from the actual sanctioned post of 704 with only two vehicles in running condition, stated Commissioner of Excise, Ravinder Singh.

Speaking to reporters to- day as part of the ongoing series of press conference of HoDs being conducted at DIPR office complex, Moirangkhom, Ravinder Singh that the department is working in the best possible manner to achieve its objective of effective prohibition in the State despite facing shortage of manpower and other facilities.

He conveyed that only 315 staff are running the department at present against the actual sanctioned post of 704 with only two vehicles out of the four issued to the department.

He asserted that there is a need for the department to strengthen its capability and for this a proposal for meeting the shortage of manpower will be sent to the Government soon.

He stated that me department has three circles - Imphal, Thoubal and Bishnupur and under these circles, there are 39 excise stations spread all over the State with one Officer-in-Charge.

There is one Superintendent and four Deputy Superintendents to assist him (the Commissioner) in the enforcement of prohibition and administrative works, he added.

Stating that the main aim and objective of the Excise Department is to enforce prohibition and collect revenue in the form of compounding/fine as well as levy and collect taxes as provided in the Acts concerned, Ravinder maintained that the main source of revenue collection is the Excise Duty levied on the liquor procured and used by military and paramilitary forces deployed in the State and the State armed forces which are exempted from prohibition.

He informed that the Excise Department was established in 1948 under the Council Resolution number 23 of the then Maharaja of Manipur and the department worked under the Eastern Bengal & Assam Excise Act, 1910 as extended to the State till the present Manipur Liquor Prohibition Act came into force in 1991.He also elaborated that for narcotics and psychotropic substances, the department works under the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.Certain provisions of Eastern Bengal & Assam Excise Act, 1990 are still in effect as adopted in the Manipur Liquor Prohibition Act, 1991, he added.

Highlighting the target and achievement of the department, the Commissioner of Excise claimed that the department collected a total revenue of Rs 939.48 lakh in 2017-18.He also claimed that a sum of Rs 9,00,84,875 was collected as fee for license and the renewal of license as well as excise duty apart from obtaining Rs 38,63,700 as compound fee in 2017-18.Superintendent of Excise Th Samsun who was present at the press conference informed that the department also works in coordination with various NGOs, CSOs and womenfolk in the seizure of illegal liquor and taking up initiatives like creating awareness programmes seeking help from the Home Department.

Nodal Officer, Excise Department Y Ranjit Singh have also attended the press conference.

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