Chandigarh Excise and Taxation Department has imposed a penalty of Rs 7 lakh on a retail liquor licensee whose “liquor langar” — the free public distribution of Smirnoff Minty Jamun Vodka mixed into ice golas outside a Sector 9 market shop — triggered an FIR, two show-cause notices and a city-wide crackdown meeting last month, officials confirmed on Friday.The penalty has been imposed on M/s Bajaj Spirits Pvt Ltd, holder of an L-2/L-14A retail liquor licence in Sector 9, Inner Market, here, by Collector (Excise) Pradhuman Singh, after the licensee was issued a show-cause notice and given an opportunity to present its case.In a separate enforcement action, the bar licence of M/s Kaindal Hospitality, SCO 11, Sector 7, Chandigarh, has been cancelled for violations of the Punjab Excise Act, 1914, and the rules framed thereunder.Deputy Commissioner and Excise and Taxation Commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav confirmed the action and issued a firm warning to all licensees across the city. “Excise Department will not tolerate any violation of the Excise Policy or Punjab Excise Act. Anyone found indulging in unauthorised sale, service, storage, transportation or misuse of liquor will face stringent action under the law, without exception,” he told The Tribune.WHAT TRIGGERED PENALTYOn May 23, Smirnoff Minty Jamun flavoured vodka was found being mixed into crushed ice golas and served free of cost to members of the public outside the liquor vend at Sector 9’s Inner Market — in full public view and, as it turned out, in full public recording. The videos went viral on Instagram almost immediately, drawing nationwide attention and coining the phrase “liquor langar” on social media.Excise Department responded swiftly, issuing show-cause notices within two days to two units of M/s Bajaj Spirits — Licensing Unit 06 at Sector 9 and Licensing Unit 57 at Sector 43 Market — invoking Rule 37(2) and Rule 37(10) of the Punjab Liquor Licence Rules, 1956, and Clause 68 of the Excise Policy 2026-27. Simultaneously, police registered FIR No. 49 at the Sector 3 police station against Rajesh Sachdeva, 53, proprietor of Liquor World Wine Shop at Sector 9, who was arrested and lodged in police lock-up.The licensee was directed to appear before the Collector (Excise) on June 1. After due consideration of the matter, the penalty of Rs 7 lakh has now been imposed.THE VIOLATION AND THE LAWServing liquor outside licensed premises and distributing it free of cost violates Rule 37(2), which bars a licensee from operating or storing liquor outside the premises specified in the licence, and Rule 37(10), which explicitly prohibits giving any customer a free dole of liquor or any inducement on the price of liquor sold. Additionally, the activity constituted advertising and promotion of liquor — banned under Clause 68 of the Excise Policy 2026-27, which holds the licensee responsible for any digital content depicting the sale or promotion of liquor from their premises, regardless of who recorded it.The policy prescribes a penalty of Rs 5 lakh per instance for digital content violations alone, apart from other penal action under Section 36 of the Punjab Excise Act, which empowers the Collector (Excise) to suspend or cancel licences of violators.CONTEXT: RECORD VENDS, RECORD COMPETITIONThe incident took place against the backdrop of a record-breaking year for Chandigarh’s liquor trade. For 2026-27, the city has 97 operational retail liquor vends — the highest in at least six years — auctioned at a bid premium of 24.63 per cent over the reserve price, the steepest in four years. Total bids crossed Rs 560 crore, against a reserve price of Rs 450 crore.Chandigarh, a city of 12.5 lakh people, drinks five times the national per-capita average — consuming roughly 2.6 crore bottles a year. Its excise revenue crossed the Rs 1,000-crore mark for the first time in 2025-26 and is on course to surpass Rs 1,200 crore this fiscal. In this intensely competitive market, the “liquor langar” was widely seen as an aggressive promotional stunt to drive footfall and brand recall — one that backfired decisively when the videos went viral.Yadav, who had convened a city-wide meeting of all liquor licensees on May 26 in the wake of the incident, reiterated the department’s zero-tolerance position. “Excise Department remains committed to maintaining a transparent, lawful and well-regulated excise administration. Healthy competition among licensees is welcome — but any deviation from the provisions of the Excise Policy or activity detrimental to public interest will be dealt with firmly,” he said.