Chandigarh: Skip queues to buy booze with e-tokens

CHANDIGARH: You can soon jump the queue to buy booze. All you have to do is go online. In a first of its kind move, the excise and taxation department of the UT administration will begin an e-token facility to make purchases from liquor shops to avoid crowding and ensure social distancing from Monday.
The facility will be available on the official website of the excise and taxation department, www.etdut.gov.in. A customer will have to visit the website, click on e-token and register himself by mentioning his name, mobile number, date of birth, address, sector and choose a liquor store.
The customer will receive an OTP (one time password) on his mobile. After verifying the OTP, the customer can choose a date and time slot. He will then get an e-token on his mobile or he can take a printout. The customer can purchase liquor by showing his e-token at the store.
"Chandigarh will be the third city after Mumbai and Delhi to start e-token facility for customers. All the 74 liquor shops in the city have been roped in," said a senior UT official. "The system has been set up in such a manner that a customer will get liquor in a nearby area without any hassle. The facility will be for those looking to purchase liquor by avoiding queues," the official said.
Following in the footsteps of other states, the administration has also increased the prices of liquor by almost 20%. "The UT has increased excise duty by 12 and imposed 3% cow cess and 5 % Covid cess on liquor."