The Kerala State Excise is the law enforcement agency for

excise file:Lincoln Beer Stamp 1871.JPG, upright=1.2, 1871 U.S. Revenue stamp for 1/6 barrel of beer. Brewers would receive the stamp sheets, cut them into individual stamps, cancel them, and paste them over the Bunghole, bung of the beer barrel so when ...

in state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South C ...

, India. Kerala Excise has its headquarters in

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

, the state capital. The department administers laws related to

liquor Liquor (or a spirit) is an alcoholic drink produced by distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar, that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. Other terms for liquor include: spirit drink, distilled beverage or ha ...

narcotic drugs The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "to make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiate ...

and psychotropic substances, medicinal preparations containing alcohol and narcotics. The Kerala Excise Academy and Research Centre,

Thrissur Thrissur (), formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and ...

trains the excise officers and that runs full-term basic courses for Excise Inspectors, Excise Preventive Officers, Civil Excise Officers, Women Civil Excise Officers and Excise Drivers. The head of the State Excise Department is the Excise Commissioner who is of the rank of Director General of Police (DGP)/Additional Director General of Police (ADGP). The current commissioner of Excise is Shri Mahipal Yadav IPS. The Excise Commissioner reports to the Excise Minister of Kerala, who is the chief executive of the state. Established under the provisions of the Kerala Abkari Act, 1077 (Act 6 of 1077), the department plays a crucial role in regulating and controlling the production, distribution, and consumption of alcoholic beverages and other intoxicating substances and the enforcement of the NDPS Act within the state of Kerala.

Duties

The principal duties of the department are protection, augmentation and collection of excise revenue and enforcement of the above acts and various rules made there under. The department prevents leakage of revenue, and exerts effective control on the abuse of liquor and intoxicating drugs. The duties of the department are broadly classified as collection of revenue, enforcement activity to prevent illicit liquor production, sale and trafficking and Campaign against

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...

. Liquor includes spirits of wine, arrack, spirits, wine, toddy, beer and all liquid consisting of or containing alcohol. Individual has no fundamental right over the manufacture and trade of liquor. Absolute right on liquor is vested with the state. The government formulates Abkari policy of the state every year. The policy formulated by the state government is implemented by the Excise Department.

Organizational structure

For the convenience of administration, the State of Kerala is divided into three zones headed by joint excise commissioners. * South Zone with headquarters at Thiruvananthapuram * Central Zone with headquarters at Ernakulam * North Zone with headquarters at Kozhikode Fourteen excise divisions come under the above three zones which are coterminous with the 14 revenue districts of the state, headed by deputy excise commissioners. In each division there is an assistant excise commissioner for supervision of enforcement activities. Each division is further divided into excise circles, which are co-terminus to the revenue taluk of the state under the control of circle inspectors of Excise. Each circle comprises one or more excise ranges, which are the micro level unit of the Excise Department and the primary enforcement unit headed by excise inspectors.

Hierarchy

Officers

* Excise Commissioner * Addl Excise Commissioner * Joint Excise Commissioner * Deputy Excise Commissioner * Assistant Excise Commissioner * Excise Circle Inspector * Excise Inspector * Assistant Excise Inspector

Sub-ordinates

* Assistant Excise Inspector (Grade) * Preventive Officer * Civil Excise Officer * Excise Driver

Duties

Organizational structure

Hierarchy

Officers

Sub-ordinates

References

Further reading