Excise dept turns tech-savvy

The state excise department has finally shed the tag of being computer illiterate, when other departments did it a few years ago

With a comprehensive business module, the department has created a database of shops and liquor manufacturing units, and its sale.u00a0

The department collects excise duty on alcoholic products and regulates its trade by eradicating clandestine activities in the processes of distillation, transportation, possession and sale of alcoholic products.

With almost zero software development and zero IT infrastructure availability, the department was at the lowest level of computerisation at the start of 2011. Due to change in tax policy, the revenue targets for the department were increased from Rs 5,800 cr to Rs 8,500 cr in 2011. At the same time, the department was short-staffed, thus necessitating an urgency for incorporating an integrated ICT transformation project.

The objectives of the project were an up-to-date databank for the state, development of capabilities to analyse the available data. This was to help increase the revenue and have better control over the movement of liquor in the state.

Besides, automated transport pass, indent system for all excisable components that goes in the manufacturing of liquor and usage of geographical information system to provide pictorial view of locations of licensees wee some of the objectives.

Apart from this, the new system was used to create a profile of a licensee and liquor brands, along with seamless and hassle-free electronic mechanism for paying excise duty. The project, launched in September 2011, offered key benefits to the department such as electronic payment mechanism for excise duty. For financial year 2012-13, Rs 8,566.65 crore of the total Rs 9,460.25 cr excise duty was collected through e-payment from various licensees.

With the use of module, the excise officers could analyse trends and understand patterns followed in production, consumption, revenue generation, etc. Database of licensees, with an advanced search features allow excise officers to locate licensees as per their criteria.u00a0

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