Bhopal, August 20: At least 3,300 shops selling Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and country liquor in Madhya Pradesh will give cash receipts to customers on purchases from September 1 onwards, an official said on Friday.

The state excise department has cracked down on liquor stores, some run by powerful liquor lobbies in the state, following complaints from tipplers that they were being duped on prices, the official said.

“Is it not strange that people are not getting cash receipts in return for liquor purchase? I have been trying to push for the cash receipt system for a year now,” Madhya Pradesh excise commissioner Rajeev Dubey said. The move saw resistance from liquor shop owners, but finally the department prevailed, he said. Madhya Pradesh Govt to Bring Stringent Law Against Illicit Liquor.

Liquor shop owners will be putting up boards at their outlets, with the phone number of the area in-charge excise officer, who can be contacted in case of grievances about prices and other issues, Dubey said.

“It was hard for us to penalise liquor shop owners who sold spirits at rates above maximum sale price for want of proof, '' the official said, adding that the new cash receipt system will come into effect from September 1. There are at least 1,300 IMFL and 2,000 country-made liquor shops in Madhya Pradesh, Dubey said.

The state government earned a revenue of more than Rs 9,000 crore from liquor sales annually, he added. The excise department's decision on cash receipt will bring uniformity in the prices of liquor, especially in the state capital, and put an end to cheating, a customer in Bhopal said.