Mohali, March 18 -- Two weeks before the 2025-26 Excise Policy kicks in, the Mohali excise department successfully auctioned all 299 vends in the district in one go on Monday, generating an impressive Rs.849.16 crore against the reserve price of Rs.595 crore.

In addition, the department earned Rs.3.30 crore by charging a non-refundable application fee of Rs.5 lakh from 66 applicants for the 299 vends. As many as 12 applications were rejected for not meeting the technical bid requirements.

This year's auction saw a significant increase in earnings, with the department generating Rs.494.92 crore in 2024-25 from the same number of vends, reflecting a jump of Rs.354.2 crore in revenue for the new fiscal year. The application fee last year w...