Rajasthan booze traders want new track & trace system to control flow of liquor

JAIPUR: With the state excise department implementing the track and trace system to control liquor flow allegedly without upgrading the infrastructure, booze traders are facing inconvenience in collecting stocks from Rajasthan State Beverages Corporation Ltd. (RSBCL) depots.
Liquor traders alleged that the barcode scanning facilities at RSBCL depots have not been upgraded, so it is taking a lot of time to release stocks to liquor vendors.
After the new system is introduced, the manufacturers are generating printed barcodes having unique serial numbers and information about batch number, manufacturing and expiry dates. Bottle readers have also been installed on the production line to know the exact number of bottles being produced.
Barcodes are also put on each bottle and boxes are scanned before dispatching the stock to warehouse of the wholesaler on trucks affixed with tags.
President of the industry body Nilesh Mewara said, "As per the rule, liquor traders have to purchase stock (guarantee) on regular basis. There are only four depots in the state capital and scanning process is extremely slow as there is no infrastructure. Orders given on the depot are taking two to three days' time. We are not against the new system; however, it should have been introduced after making proper arrangements."
The representatives of the liquor trade also met excise commissioner and apprised him about the issues on Monday. The traders demand timely delivery of liquor after scanning. A senior RSBCL official said, "We are resolving the issues as they come. As the system is new, private units to some extent face difficulties due to various reasons. However, we have introduced the system effectively. In states like Telangana it took almost six month to make the system glitch free. We have almost resolved all the major issues."