Chandigarh, Aug 19 (IANS): From September 5, no vehicles will be allowed to transport ethanol and spirits in Punjab without tamper-proof sealing, according to a directive issued by the state government on Wednesday.

The GPS coordinates of the vehicle will also need to be preserved by the distillery unit concerned for a period of not less than 15 days from the date of completion of delivery of a consignment.

A government statement said this aimed at providing checks on transportation of extra neutral alcohol, ethanol, specially denatured spirit, denatured spirit and rectified spirit by the distilleries.

The tamper-proof sealing of the tankers will be done by the distillery units before dispatch and the seal will be broken only by the recipient, under the new rules.

Both dispatch and receiving units will have to maintain records and certifications to this effect for each tanker and truck, Excise Commissioner Rajat Agarwal said.

In no case will the transport vehicle be allowed to stop en route its destination within the state, except in case of breakdown, when the manufacturing unit shall be duty bound to inform the Excise Officer concerned of the unit within a period of not more than 15 minutes of such breakdown.

The seals on the outlet of the transport vehicle must be kept intact and not broken in any way in such instances, added the Commissioner.