Excise e-auction for issuing liquor licence in Kalaburagi on Jan. 13

In a first-of-its-kind initiative in the State, the Excise Department will conduct an e-auction of vacant liquor licenses with the process for Kalaburagi district scheduled on January 13, Excise Deputy Commissioner P. Sanganagouda has said.

Addressing a press conference at his office here on Wednesday, he said that a total of 15 liquor licenses comprising 12 CL-2(A) and three CL-9(A) licenses that are currently vacant in Kalaburagi district will be allotted through the online auction process.

He said that across Karnataka, 569 vacant liquor licenses of various categories will be issued through e-auction in a transparent manner between January 13 and January 20. “For Kalaburagi district, e-auction will be conducted on January 13 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.,” he said.

Eligible bidders can register through the MSTC portal by paying a registration fee of ₹1,000, an application fee of ₹50,000 and the prescribed earnest money deposit (EMD).

He said that licenses will be issued for the period 2025-26 to 2029-30, subject to payment of annual renewal fees as per rules. Reservation norms for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and the general category will be followed in accordance with government guidelines.

The officer said that bidders will have to pay the EMD online at the rate of 2% of the base price fixed for each license in the respective excise ranges.

Applicants can bid for more than one license but exclusive applications and EMD payments will be required for each license.

“Bidding will start from the base price and bids can be increased in multiples of ₹2 lakh. The successful bidder will be finalised by MSTC Limited, a Central government enterprise,” he said.

He also gave details of the location-wise base prices. In Aland, Jewargi and Sedam excise ranges, there are two CL-2(A) licenses each, while Chincholi has one CL-2(A) license, all with a base price of ₹80 lakh and an EMD of ₹1.60 lakh.

In Kalaburagi range-1, there are two CL-2(A) licenses and in Kalaburagi range-2, one CL-2(A) license, with a base price of ₹1.10 crore and an EMD of ₹2.20 lakh.

Similarly, there is one CL-9(A) license in Kalaburagi range-1 and two in Kalaburagi range-2, each with the same base price and EMD.

He clarified that government employees, those holding offices of profit, those with pending government dues and individuals convicted by courts will not be eligible to obtain liquor licenses.

To familiarise prospective bidders from Kalaburagi and Yadgir districts with the e-auction process and software, a training programme has been organised on January 3 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the MRMC SAC (Student Activity Centre) located on the CPM Boys Hostel campus of the HKE Education Society, near the old RTO office on Sedam Road in Kalaburagi.

He urged interested bidders to attend the session and gain clarity on the online auction process.

For more details on the e-auction procedure, eligibility, reservation, terms and conditions, bidders can visit the Excise Department portal and the MSTC e-commerce website, he added.

Excise Superintendent Ramanagouda Mudigouda from the Kalaburagi Divisional Joint Commissioner’s office and Excise Superintendent Hanumantray Vajramatti from the Deputy Commissioner’s office were present at the press conference.