Liquor revenue up by 34% despite tech glitches in new excise software

Jaipur: The state excise department witnessed a significant surge in liquor revenue this month, despite multiple issues with the newly implemented software used by vendors to place orders. From Oct 1 to 19, the department collected Rs 651 crore in liquor sales, marking a 34.6% increase over the previous month's collection of Rs 484 crore.An official said the first three weeks of Oct were particularly challenging for officials at Rajasthan State Beverages Corporation Limited (RSBCL) and Rajasthan State Ganganagar Sugar Mills (RSGSM), who are overseeing the implementation of the Integrated Excise Management System (IEMS) 2.0. This new software, developed by RSBCL through RajComp Info Services Limited under the Department of Information Technology (DOIT), faced multiple technical glitches since its launch on Oct 2.Despite these hurdles, the excise department managed not only to keep liquor procurement on track but also to increase it. A senior official said, "After mobilising district transport officers, excise inspectors, and clerical staff to ensure smooth operations, teams were assigned to lift old stock from RSBCL and GSM depots and bring in fresh supplies from companies. These efforts helped resolve many of the issues licensees faced in receiving liquor stock, even with ongoing software troubles."In addition to the overall revenue increase, the collection of country liquor also saw a substantial rise. From Oct 1 to 19, Rs 194 crore worth of country liquor was lifted from RSGSM depots, compared to Rs 130 crore in Sept. This represents a 49.23% increase over the same period last month. However, technical issues with the IEMS 2.0 system persist. Vendors reported various problems, including funds not appearing in the correct accounts, and payments being reflected under the wrong licensee names.Meanwhile, Nilesh Mewara, President of the Raj Liquor Welfare Association, said, "The problems include the guarantee not being displayed, opening and closing balances not showing, and the amount we are transferring appearing incorrectly. Bills for the stock that was given offline on Oct 9th and 10th have not yet been received."