Chandigarh, May 27 -- The UT excise and taxation department sealed eight liquor vends over non-payment of licence fee on Monday. According to officials, two sealed vends are located in Sector 9, besides one each in Sector 32-D, Sector 40, Sector 45, Manimajra, Daria and Mauli Jagran. The total annual licence fee for these eight vends was Rs.67.64 crore. The total amount due was Rs.5.41 crore. With only Rs.2.71 crore being paid, Rs.2.70 crore had remained unpaid in April. According to officials, after sealing, the licensees shall have to pay the balance dues, along with applicable interest at 1.5% per month calculated on a daily basis, to get their licences operational. Earlier, the department had sealed 48 of the 96 liquor vends that were allotted for the 2025-26 financial year as the successful bidders had failed to deposit mandatory bank guarantees of nearly Rs.40 crore. The Chandigarh Wine Contractors Association has alleged cartelisation in vend allotments as many licences were secured by just two or three individuals operating through multiple firms, relatives or associates. Meanwhile, the department was able to sell only one liquor vend located in Sector 22 out of the 11 vends during the eighth round of auction held on Monday. It earned a revenue of Rs.3.51 crore. The remaining 10 liquor vends will again be put up for auction soon....