Map of Kerala Excise Department's jurisdiction. The map on left shows Kerala in India and on right shows the State with Thiruvananthapuram district in red
The Kerala State Excise is the law enforcement agency for excise in state of Kerala, India. Kerala Excise has its headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital, and is headed by the Excise Commissioner, with the rank of Additional Director General of Police. The department administers laws related to liquor, narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, medicinal preparations containing alcohol and narcotics. The current commissioner of Excise is Shri Mahipal Yadav, IPS. The Excise Commissioner reports to the Excise Minister of Kerala, who serves as the chief executive of the department. The Kerala Excise Academy and Research Centre, Thrissur 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. [1]
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. 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.[2]
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.[3][4]
