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Delhi may see only three dry days a year

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DELHI MAY SOON SEE ONLY THREE DRY DAYS PER YEAR, P6
FOR MORE REVENUE, GOVT PROPOSES MAJOR CHANGES IN EXCISE POLICY
Delhi may see only three dry days a year

PRAGYA KAUSHIKA
NEW DELHI, AUGUST 10

FROM DRASTICALLY reducing the number of ‘dry days’ in the capital to lowering the drinking age of foreigners and allowing restaurants to serve alcohol in open spaces, the Delhi government’s proposed excise policy is set to bring cheer to many.

However, not all of it is good news. Licence fee for pubs and clubs is set to get costlier, and customers may end up bearing the brunt of the hike. The cost of a permit to serve alcohol at a private party is also likely to increase.

To make availability of liquor easier and plug loopholes in the system, the department has pro-posed that restaurants which procure alcohol from wholesale vendors will be allowed to get it from any of the two nearest retail outlets, on payment of 20 per cent extra excise duty. These restaurants will be granted a temporary permit for doing so.

The government also wants to increase the cost of a P10 permit, needed to serve alcohol at a private party at a banquet or a farm-house, to Rs 15,000.

In another significant step, reportedly proposed by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal himself, permission from the mohalla sabha concerned will be mandatory for setting up a liquor shop in any area.

The government has also pro-posed that the power to grant licences to eateries be taken away from Delhi Police and given to its food and supplies department.

The restriction on setting up liquor shops near major educational institutes, religious places and hospitals may also be lifted for “restaurants in air-conditioned shopping malls”.

The measures are aimed at generating more revenue for the Delhi government, said senior officials. “We need revenue for the development of the city, and increasing the licence fee will help us earn more revenue. We are providing more options to restaurants and bars… we are commit-ted towards eliminating licence raj and have introduced an online system for granting these licences,” said a senior official.

Welcoming the proposed ‘liberalisation’ of excise policy, Riyaaz Amlani, president of National Restaurant Association of India, said, “We spoke to government officials… we are satisfied with the proposed measures but a lot more needs to be done.”

Mostly good news, some bad news
NO MORE DRY DAYS ON RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS
In 2015, there were 22 dry days including the three national holidays -Republic Day, Independence Day and Gandhi Jayanti. The new policy proposes that only these three days should be observed as ‘dry days’. Festivals including Holi, Diwali, Good Friday and Eid, among others, may not be ‘dry days’ any more.

DRINKING AGE LOWER FOR FOREIGNERS
Section 23 of the Delhi Excise Act, 2009, states that “no person or licensed vendor …. shall sell or deliver any liquor to any person under the age of 25 years .” To boost tourism, the government has proposed that this restriction should be applicable only to Indians, not foreign nationals visiting the capital.

DRINKING IN PUBS AND CLUBS TO GET COSTLIER
For restaurants serving 50 or more patrons, the licence fee is Rs 50,000. The government wants to hike it to Rs 1 lakh. The licence fee for restaurants serving between 51-100 will be hiked from Rs 75,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh. The licence fee for restaurants serving between 101-200 will be hiked from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh. The annual licence fee will be increased by 10 per cent every year.

PERMISSION TO SERVE ALCOHOL IN OPEN SPACES Restaurants, pubs and bars which have an NOC from the fire department will be allowed to serve liquor in “additional area in open space” if they pay an additional 75 per cent of their licence fee amount. This will generate more revenue from pubs and bars for the excise department, said officials.

LICENCES TO EATERIES: NO POLICE ROLE
The government has also proposed that the power to grant licences to eateries be taken away from Delhi Police and given to its food and supplies department. Currently, eateries need “a registration with the licensing department of police and certificate by the tourism department of GNCTD.”

APPROVAL FROM MOHALLA SABHAS
To set up a liquor shop in an area, the approval of mohalla sabhas will be mandatory. Otherwise, the permission of electorate of four polling booths will be needed to set up such a shop, according to the new 0 proposal. This step was reportedly suggested by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal himself. The mohalla sabha’s nod will be imperative to get the licence for ‘retail vend in public space’, states the policy.

PERMIT FOR PRIVATE PARTIES TO GET COSTLIER
The excise department has proposed increasing the permit fee which allows hosts to serve alcohol in private parties. A P 10 permit fee — to serve alcohol at functions in park or community centres —costs Rs 5,000. The same permit — for serving alcohol at banquets and farmhouses — costs Rs 15,000. “It is proposed that a uniform permit fee of Rs 15,000 per day per function should be charged from those with P-10 permits,” states the proposal. The government is also planning to hike the fee for P 10A permits — needed to serve alcohol in “commercial ticketed event or functions” — to “Rs 1 lakh per day per counter, up to a maximum of Rs 5 lakh”

Source :Indian Express

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