The three-month-long lockdown due to Covid-19 has caused a massive financial hit to the Punjab government as well as Murree Brewery, as the Punjab Excise Taxation and Narcotics Control (ET and NC) Department fell 60 per cent short of its revenue collection target due to restriction on liquor sales.

The ET and NC had set Rs1.7 billion revenue target from liquor sales by licensed vendors, however it was able to achieve only 40pc of the targetted amount, Pakistan Today has learnt.

Murree Brewery Chief Executive Isphanyar Bhandara told Pakistan Today that the lockdown restrictions had caused huge financial losses not just to his company but also the Punjab government, which collects at least Rs400m in excise duty from Murree Brewery alone.

'Beside the financial loss, the deaths caused by consuming fake liquor should be an even bigger concern for the government. In the last three months, about 20 to 30 people have died in Punjab due to fake liquor. Since licensed vendors are closed, the regular drinkers have started consuming fake liquor, which is a very dangerous thing,' he said.

He added that they are trying to persuade the Punjab government to lift the lockdown restriction on the company and licensed vendors so that precious human lives could be saved.

'I appeal to the Punjab government to open vendor shops as soon as possible so that people get genuine products and do not opt for fake liquor which may cause their untimely and painful death. There should not be any fear of spreading infection at the permit rooms as people will come, buy and leave; they will not roam around like in shopping malls etc.,' he said.

'I know that social distancing is very important in view of the current pandemic, and therefore, the SOPs for this business should include giving products only to those who follow the rules,' he emphasised.

'Exports are not our domain because only ethanol, a pure form of alcohol, is exported from Pakistan and our company deals with the production of finished products. This means that we are the buyers of ethanol and are, in fact, paying duty on it,' he explained.

'The more Murree Brewery we make available, the less it will be sold in black and the government will benefit as the brewery is the only source from which the government collects duty on every single product,' he said, adding that the business contributes Rs5.6bn to the government exchequer in the form of taxes annually.

'Now, Rs400m will be deducted for three months out of this amount,' he added.

Punjab Excise and Taxation Officer (ETO) Safeer Abbas Jappa also confirmed the financial loss due to restriction on liquor sales.

He said that the department was collecting Rs80m a month from licensed vendors in Lahore alone.

'In just three months, the department has incurred a loss of Rs240m in Lahore. Apart from Murree Brewery, other vendors also pay taxes. These shops will not be open until written orders are issued by the government,' he said.

Talking about the target and deficit of ET and NC, Jappa said, 'Our target for the last financial year was Rs1.74bn. In terms of recovery, we were already in a huge deficit during FY 2019-20 and currently, the department was able to collect only 40 per cent taxes from vendors.'

© Pakistan Press International, source Asianet-Pakistan