Widespread Shutdown of Liquor Shops in Jharkhand Over Unsustainable Sales Targets
In a significant development impacting the state's retail liquor industry, at least 84 licensed liquor shops across Jharkhand have permanently closed their doors starting Wednesday. This mass shutdown comes as a direct response to what dealers describe as crippling financial losses caused by excessively high daily sales targets mandated by the state's excise and prohibition department.
New Excise Policy Implementation Sparks Business Crisis
The closures follow the implementation of Jharkhand's new excise policy in September last year, which introduced rigorous daily sales targets for all liquor retailers based on their specific locations and business potential. According to Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, general secretary of the Jharkhand Sharab Vyapari Sangh (the state's liquor dealers' association), many shops found these targets completely unattainable in practical business operations.
"The daily targets were set without proper consideration of ground realities," Jaiswal explained. "Many establishments simply could not meet these unrealistic expectations, forcing them to make the difficult decision to cease operations entirely."
Specific Cases Highlight the Financial Strain
The association has documented several specific instances that illustrate the severity of the situation. In Ranchi alone, three out of 150 licensed shops have already closed. One particular establishment faced a daily sales target of approximately Rs 1.8 lakh but could only manage to generate around Rs 1.2 lakh in revenue, resulting in consistent losses for the owner.
Another shop located in Lalpur was assigned a staggering daily target of Rs 5 lakh but typically achieved sales between Rs 3-3.5 lakh. "When businesses are consistently operating at a loss due to unrealistic government mandates, continuing operations becomes financially impossible," Jaiswal emphasized.
Official Response and Licensing Details
Deputy Commissioner of Excise and Prohibition, Rakesh Kumar, confirmed that the closures resulted from shops failing to renew their licenses for the new financial year. While exact district-wise numbers are still being compiled, preliminary information indicates closures across multiple regions:
- Clusters of shops in Jamshedpur and Koderma
- Two shops each in Ranchi and Seraikela
- Four shops each in Dhanbad and Garhwa
Kumar noted that each cluster consists of a maximum of five shops and that the department will soon initiate the process of reallocating these licenses to new owners.
Policy Background and Government Stance
The current situation stems from the Jharkhand Excise (Settlement and Operation of Shops for Retail Sale of Liquor) Rules, 2025, which the state cabinet approved in May last year. This policy framework enabled private players to engage in retail liquor sales across the state.
Under this new system, a total of 1,343 retail liquor shops received licenses for five-year terms:
- 159 shops authorized to sell country liquor exclusively
- 1,184 shops permitted to sell both country liquor and Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL)
Ranchi Assistant Excise Commissioner Uma Shankar Singh maintained that the department's primary concern is ensuring timely government dues rather than shop profitability. "License holders agreed to operate under the new policy terms," Singh stated. "Their responsibility is to meet their financial obligations to the government regardless of their profit margins."
Industry representatives warn that the current count of 84 closures may increase significantly as more comprehensive data becomes available in the coming days. This development raises serious questions about the practical implementation of the state's excise policy and its impact on small business viability in the liquor retail sector.
