Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Jun 15: The state government has finally taken the initiative to check the offending shops that are fooling customers by unreasonable rates.

As per the state excise department decision, it will be mandatory to install CCTV cameras for all liquor shops present in the state of Karnataka, both CL2 (retail outlets) and CL9 (bars and restaurants). This is one of the conditions laid down by the department for renewing their license.

The excise commissioner Munish Moudgil while interacting with media persons, said:”We will renew the license only if CCTV cameras are installed. The shop owners have to store the footage and have to produce them whenever they are asked to do so. Officials will go through the footage and take action on receiving complaints against them. This is expected to prevent liquor shops from taking the customers for a ride,”

This process will begin on Friday, July 15. To continue to run their business, all the 10,051 liquor shops in Karnataka must get their licenses renewed by the end of this month. Nearly 80% of these shops are into the retail sale (CL2), while others are bars and restaurants.

EAL to come in place of QR code

Besides, the department is planning to replace hologram-embedded excise adhesive labels (EAL) with QR codes in order to prevent ‘seconds’ sale (evading excise duty) and prevent tampering. “A unique QR code will be assigned to every liquor bottle while packaging at the distilleries. The QR code can store up to a hundred times more information than a conventional EAL. The QR code will not only prevent ‘seconds’ sale but ensure quality for the customers,” Moudgil said:

Furthermore, the government can save Rs 300 crore being spent on EAL every year if the QR code system is adopted, he added.

The liquor shops running beyond permitted hours and overpricing are the common complaints of customers against liquor shops. There are many examples where the liquor shops display fake bills to cheat the customers, which is uncontrollable among retail outlets. The department was not able to take actions against the errant license holders in the absence of evidence.

“The customers can also easily verify whether a liquor bottle is genuine by using a QR code reader, which can be downloaded and installed on a smartphone free of charge,” said Moudgil.