In a major crackdown, the Haryana Excise Department has seized 3,921 cases and 176 loose bottles of illegal foreign liquor, worth approximately Rs 10 crore, from a licensed wine shop operating under the name ‘The Theka’, attached to the Ebowla Club BYOB (Bring Your Own Bottle) building in the Sector 30 area of Gurgaon.
Officials said the seized stock lacked mandatory holograms and track-and-trace strips, indicating it was illicit.
Acting on a tip-off received on Tuesday afternoon, the department formed a special team and conducted a search at the outlet in Sector 30, where they found a large quantity of non–duty-paid foreign liquor stored, officials said.
The store was operated by Surender Singh, who is currently absconding, they added. During the raid, officials recovered the liquor from two rooms behind the outlet. According to officials, all bottles lacked the required excise holograms and track-and-trace security features.
A detailed inventory was prepared on the spot. Following the raid, the Excise Department informed the Sector 40 police station. The excise team then handed over a written complaint along with the seizure list to the police.
Soon after, the Sector 40 police registered a case under the Haryana Excise Act. The entire consignment was then taken into police custody, with trucks moving between the outlet and the police station till Tuesday evening.
Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner (Gurugram East) Amit Bhatia told The Indian Express on Wednesday that the value of the seized items is about Rs 8–10 crore. The revenue loss for the department can currently be pegged at over Rs 1 crore — around Rs 70 lakh in evaded excise duties and Rs 30 lakh in Value Added Tax (VAT), Bhatia said.
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Ebowla had won the bid for the BYOB, which includes the liquor outlet that it chose to license out. “BYOB licence holders are allowed under the extant rules and policy to license operations at the attached outlet to a different player, which was done in this case,” he added.
Meanwhile, sources at Ebowla said they have nothing to do with the liquor outlet as it is not run by them, and declined to comment further on the matter.
Excise officials added that the bottles and crates had likely come from Chandigarh, and that further action would follow, including penalties for tax evasion.
“A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to probe the case under the supervision of ACP (East). The SIT includes personnel from the Crime Branch as well as the local police station,” a Gurgaon Police spokesperson said.
The liquor outlet remained open as of Wednesday night.
