Shocking! Anonymous man buys liquor of Rs 52.8k, shares bill on WhatsApp, Karnataka excise dept books seller

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The liquor bill of Rs 52,800 that went viral on WhatsApp across India has got both the seller and buyer into trouble. The Karnataka excise department has booked a case against the seller for selling far more than the permissible limit. The department rules mandate that retail liquor outlets cannot sell more than 2.6 litres of Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) or 18 litres of beer to a customer per day. In this case, the retailer, Vanilla Spirit Zone in Tavarekere in Bengaluru South, sold 13.5 litres of liquor and 35 litres of beer to a customer. The excise officials came to know about the violation after the bill went viral on social media hours after liquor shops reopened on Monday after the 46-day lockdown. It soon kicked off a debate on how the liquor shops are openly violating the government order. The buyer, who presumably posted the bill on social media, remains unidentified. The excise department can file a case against the buyer too, because the rules prohibit a person from carrying more than 2.6 liters of any category of liquor. ‘8 buyers but only 1 card was swiped’ When the officials questioned the shop owner, he said the liquor was purchased by a group of eight people, but the payment was made using a single card. “We are investigating his (the owner) claim and only then we will decide on what penal action to be taken against him,” said A Giri, excise DC, Bengaluru South. The department will perhaps see more such cases, considering other buyers, too, have posted similar bills on social media. A bill of Rs 59,952 in Mangaluru has also been doing the social-media rounds. #myvadodara2020 #mvtt #vadodara #baroda #gujarat #india #bangalore #bangaluru #karnataka #liquor #bill #viral #instagram #excise #stategovernment

A post shared by My Vadodara 2020 (MVTT INDIA) (@myvadodara2020) on May 5, 2020 at 12:08am PDT

The Karnataka excise department has booked the seller for breaking the guidelines of the permissible limit. According to the rules, no retail liquor outlet can sell more than 2.6 liters of Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) or 18 liters of beer to a customer per day.

But, the bill that went viral showed that the anonymous man has purchased 13.5 liters of liquor and 35 liters of beer due to which the seller has been booked by the department.

The shop of the retailer is located at Vanilla Spirit Zone in Tavarekere in Bengaluru South, who has been booked by the excise department.

Meanwhile, the man who shared the bill on WhatsApp is still unidentified. However, the Karnataka excise department will file a case against the buyer too, because he also violated the rule by carrying over 2.6 litres of any category of liquor.

On the other hand, the shop owner claimed that the liquor was purchased by a group of eight people, but the payment was done by a single card.

“We are investigating his (the owner) claim and only then we will decide on what penal action to be taken against him,” said A Giri, excise DC, Bengaluru South.

Meanwhile, the department is looking for more such cases as many other buyers have also posted similar bills on social media. Recently, a man from Mangaluru also shared a bill of Rs 59,952.

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