Jaipur: A major flaw in state excise department’s software has resulted in holders of liquor licences in the state receiving notifications of large deposits being made into their accounts without actual crediting of these funds. Consequently, licence holders have either stopped liquor sales, citing these uncredited amounts, or are unable to place orders for fresh stock. Incidents have been reported from several districts, including Sikar, Jhalawar, Udaipur, and Bikaner.Developed by a Bengaluru-based company and launched on Oct 2 last year, the Integrated Excise Management System (IEMS) 2.0, the errant software, has consistently caused problems for both licence holders and excise officials. Officials have acknowledged the issue and stated that they were exploring corrective measures to prevent further discrepancies and ensure proper accounting of transactions.Raj Liquor Welfare Society president Nilesh Mewara said, “Since its launch, the software has not been working properly. It mixes up debits and credits, and invoices have to be reconciled with liquor vendors. We have protested earlier as well. In one instance in Bikaner, a licence holder deposited Rs 9 lakh, but the software credited Rs 18 lakh to the account. Dozens of licence holders reportedly benefited from such errors over the past year.““Stocks are drying up, and customers are leaving due to unavailability of their preferred brands as orders cannot be placed most of the time through this software,” added a liquor licence holder.A senior official said Thursday, “Directions have been issued, and the problem will be resolved before Monday.”“I deposit money through the software to purchase stock. Some Rs 40 crore worth of billing happens every day across the state. However, orders often cannot be placed. The department launched the software without proper testing, and now licence holders are unable to purchase stock. This is a double blow, causing severe financial losses,” another licence holder said.According to policy, licence holders must meet a minimum target (guarantee), and the department can impose penalties if they are not met.
