The CAG report indicated that the state incurred a loss of Rs 20.15 crore in revenue and Rs 70.22 crore in interest due to the incorrect assessment of licence renewal fees.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India criticized the Maharashtra state excise department for significant operational failures that resulted in a considerable revenue deficit.

The audit also noted that the failure to apply revised rates for supervision fees led to an additional revenue shortfall of Rs 1.20 crore.

According to the report, the then Excise Commissioner exempted excise duty on old beer stock without securing prior approval from the state government.

Furthermore, the report pointed out that the late submission of mild beer samples for chemical testing hindered tax recovery by Rs 73.18 crore.

Rekha Gupta presented the first CAG report, stating that the Delhi government suffered a loss of Rs 2,000 crore due to its liquor policy.

“The Bombay Prohibition (Privilege Fee) Rules, 1954, include a provision for charging fees related to partnership changes. However, this provision did not apply to significant changes in the shareholding of public limited companies, leading to a loss of Rs 26.93 crore for the state,” the CAG noted.

The lack of a provision in the Excise Act for declaring production costs also resulted in a missed chance for the government to generate additional revenue, it further stated.

The audit additionally uncovered that the production costs of 11 products or brands in the Canteen Stores Department (CSD) were undervalued, resulting in a loss of Rs 38.34 crore in excise duty.

Moreover, inaccuracies in the purchase costs of imported foreign liquor led to a failure to collect Rs 11.48 crore from August 2018 to March 2022, and Rs 2.89 crore from May 2017 to March 2022.

The combined impact of these oversights resulted in a significant loss of revenue for the government, prompting serious questions regarding the operations of the Excise Department, according to the CAG.