KERALA EXCISE MANUALVOLUME II REVISED-2018 KERALA EXCISE MANUAL VOLUME II REVISED-2018 FOREWORD This manual is designed only to be a guide and a ready reckoner to all officers and staff of the Department in carrying out their duties efficiently and properly. This volume (Volume II) contains general instructions regarding the working of the Department and a background information about the subjects dealt within the Department. The Technical aspects of the distillery, brewery etc. have also been incorporated in this volume. Utmost care has been taken to include correct and up to date information in this manual based on Act and Rules. If any content of this manual found to be repugnant to the provisions of the Acts and Rules, the provisions of Acts and Rules shall prevail over this manual. While recommending printing of the manual, I would like to place on record my sincere appreciation of the work done by senior officers of this Department in preparing this manual in addition to their normal duties. Suggestions for the improvement of the manual are always welcome and will be given due consideration by the Department. Rishi Raj Singh, I.P.S., Excise Commissioner. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapters Page I History of Administration 4 II Constitutional provisions relating to the control, taxation of liquors, etc 12 III Excise Revenue – source and provisions of the Act 13 IV Set up of the Department – Hierarchy and discipline 20 V Liquor 43 VI Foreign Liquor 46 VII Excise Duty-Procedure for levy 55 VIII Gallonage Fee and Vending Fee 59 IX Foreign liquor bonded warehouse 60 X Toddy 62 XI Sweet Toddy (Neera) 78 XII Arrack 85 XIII Industrial Spirits- Denatured Spirits and Varnish 86 XIV Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic substances 94 XV Manufactured Drugs 105 XVI Collection of Samples 120 XVII Sale of Abkari Shops 127 XVIII Rentals of Shops and Forfeiture 133 XIX Licences 136 XX Alcoholic Strength of Liquors 143 XXI Distillery 149 Page XXII Brewery 160 XXIII Winery-Wines, Sacramental Wine and Tea Cider 163 XXIV Medicinal and toilet preparations 167 XXV Crimes-Detection, Investigation, Trials and Prevention 200 XXVI Uniforms and Uniform Allowance 225 XXVII Diaries 230 XXVIII Recovery of excise arrears under Revenue Recovery Act 233 XXIX COTPA Act 2003 240 Appendices I. Questionnaire for inspection of Division offices 244 II. List of Registers to be maintained in the Division Office, Circle Office and Range Office 248 III. Glossary of Excise Terms and Definitions 254 IV. Consolidated list of Periodicals due to and from the Deputy Excise Commissioners and Excise Commissionarate, Trivandrum. 269 V. Model Notice of the sale of the privilege of vending Toddy. 276 VI. Forms related to Toddy Shops 283 VII. Application for obtaining privilege of manufacture, possession and Processing of sweet toddy (Neera)/production of value added products. 291 VIII. Forms for Licence for the manufacture, possession and sale of drugs. 294 Kerala Excise Department Kerala Excise Manual-Vol. II CHAPTER l HISTORY OF ADMINISTRATION 1. The Excise Department is administering the laws and rules relating to - (a) Liquor (b) Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances. (c) Medicinal and Toilet Preparations containing alcohol, Opium, Indian hemp or other narcotic drugs or narcotics (d) Control and distribution of molasses. (e) COTPA Act 2003 [Cigarettes and other Tobacco products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act.] 2. The manufacture, sale and consumption of intoxicating liquors have been subject to State control from very early times in India. Thus even Kautilya‘s Arthasasthra of the third century B.C refers to a separate Department under a Suradhyaksh for the control of liquors. It envisaged control at single point or multi-point. The Arthsasthra (1) forbid manufacture or sale of liquors other than at centers previously determined, (2) provided for consumption only at the place of sale and for removal only in limited quantities, (3) forbid sale of liquors cheap, at prices below the normal rate,(4) provided for keeping the sale centres neat and clean with provision for salubrious rooms, (5) provided for recovery from the keeper of the Bar, the cost of any article of luxury removed surreptitiously from a person in state of intoxication etc. Kautilya mentions also the process of manufacture of various kinds of liquors. Tax was levied at 5% from manufacturers and sellers. An import duty of 1/6th was also levied. Penalties were levied on public servants found drunk. 3. The first legislation in British India so far as Abkari Revenue is concerned, appears to be the Madras Act XlX of 1852 ,―for better securing the Abkari Revenue of the Town and suburbs of Madras‖. A systematic codification appears to have been attempted by Act III of 1864, ―An Act for amending the Abkari Laws of Madras Presidency beyond the limits of Madras Abkari as prescribed by Act XlX of 1852‖. Based on this, similar legislation was enacted in Travancore Acts I of 1054 and I of 1055 M.E. (1878 and 1879 AD). In the erstwhile Cochin area, there seems to have been some sort of a control over Abkari matters as per Police Act 1010 and 1053 M.E. But a systematic attempt was made only under Proclamation dated 21 Karkitagom 1072 M.E. (1897 A.D.). 1 Kerala Excise Department Kerala Excise Manual-Vol. II 4. These earlier Acts were meant only for regulating import and export of liquor and intoxicating drugs. The provision relating to number and location of shops and control over the quality of liquors were not sufficiently stringent. These deficiencies were remedied by the Madras Act I of 1886, Cochin Abkari Act I of 1077 M.E. and Travancore Abkari Act I of 1073 M.E.. The nature of control now in force is largely based on the super structure of these Acts, though there had been certain amendments consequent to the coming in to force of the Constitution of India and various legal rulings. 5. The manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors and drugs have always been considered the monopoly of the Governments. This system that prevailed in India till 20th Century was called the farming system. The farmer opened as many shops as he chose and manufactured and sold liquors. He also appointed renters under him and sublet the farm. But this system was found to be injurious to the health of the society on the one hand and affected the revenue on the other. The independent shop system was therefore adopted about 60 years back, though farming system was also continued in some limited areas, for some time. According to the system now in vogue, viz., independent shop system, the privilege of sale of liquor in specified shops is sold by the Government. The manufacture, import, export, transport, transit, possession, storage, sales, etc. of arrack is prohibited in the State w.e.f. 01/04/1996. 6. One of the basic tenets of the administration of the laws relating to liquor and drugs has always been ―maximum revenue, minimum consumption‖. Following the attainment of independence, for the adoption of ―prohibition of all alcoholic liquors and intoxicating drugs other than for medicinal purposes‖ as a directive principle of the Constitution, an attempt was made to introduce prohibition of liquors and drugs by stages. Prohibition was first introduced in the erstwhile Malabar District of Madras Presidency and the Chittur Taluk of Cochin State from 1st October 1947 and in Neyyattinkara Taluk of Travancore State from 17th August 1948. Prohibition was extended to Trivandrum, Nedumangad, Chirayinkeezhu and Thalappilly Taluk of Travancore-Cochin State on 17th August 1949, Cranganore and Pathanapuram Taluks on 17th August 1950 and Kottarakara Taluk on 1st April 1955. Prohibition was thus in force in an area of about 8606.73 Square miles i.e. about 58.8 percent of the total area of the State of Kerala. 7. The privilege of vending toddy for any period in any of the independent Toddy Shops may be decided by the Government from time to time, shall be put to public sale, by group by group or range wise or taluk wise. Sale of shops will be conducted by the District Collector or by the Joint Commissioner of Excise or by any other officer authorized by the Government in that behalf to individuals or group of individuals or 2 Kerala Excise Department Kerala Excise Manual-Vol. II Toddy Workers or Toddy Tappers Co-operative Society on such date or dates and at such place or places as may be fixed from time to time, for a fixed annual rental as licence fee decided by the Government. In the case of Toddy shops, as a concomitant of the independent shop system, the tree-tax system was also introduced. The purchaser of the right of vend in Toddy shops has the right to manufacture and sell toddy, but has to pay tree-tax separately for each tree tapped. 8. The Kerala State Beverages (Manufacturing and Marketing) Corporation and Kerala State Co-operative Consumer Federation Limited shall have the exclusive privilege to run all or any of the Foreign Liquor I (FL1)shops as may be allotted to each of them by the Government on the basis of the capacity and availability of shop space with them. 9. The right of vending of liquors is settled for each year in the case of foreign liquor. Toddy Shop licence is now settled for a period of 3 years. However, the fixed fee system is applied to certain classes of licences such as sale of foreign liquor in restaurants or in clubs. This may change as per the Abkari Policy of the Government from time to time.