UP: Excise department to step up raids on outlets serving liquor without licence

The excise department of Uttar Pradesh (UP) has decided to step up surprise raids on bars, pubs, clubs, restaurants and hotels serving liquor without valid licences.

“We are issuing notices to such outlets after verifying how they are flouting rules,” an excise department official said.

Excise commissioner Dheeraj Sahu has issued orders that anyone found misusing liquor licences would not only lose their permit but will also put on the blacklist.

Several restaurants in the state capital have been issued notices for serving liquor without a valid liquor licence, either temporary or permanent.

Under the new excise policy, the government has doubled the fees of occasional bar licences from ₹5,000 per day to ₹10,000.

Under the new policy, various categories of fees that was earlier there for non-commercial temporary bar licence has been scrapped.

Now a consolidated fee of ₹4,000 per day for temporary noncommercial bar licence would be charged instead of the earlier ₹1,000 for consuming liquor in house, ₹2,000 for consuming it in one’s lawn, officials said.

“Over the past year or so I have got FIRs lodged against 7 illegal bars in Lucknow. There are several hotels, restaurants and clubs who take occasional licence and misuse it. We intend to crackdown on them,” said excise inspector Vishnu Pratap Singh.

For permanent liquor licences too, the fees has been increased by 15% under the new policy.

Excise department officials said that several bars and restaurants in upscale Gomti Nagar area were flouting licence rules with impunity.

The hotel bar licence is among the major source of revenue for the department.

Liquor licence fees differ from one hotel to another, one club to another depending on the number of rooms and its star rating, an official said.

For a hotel up till three star rating with 30 rooms, the fees is ₹8.05 lakh, till 70 rooms the fees is ₹970 lakh, till 100 rooms it is ₹10.5 lakh and above 100 rooms the permanent fees under the newlook liquor trade is ₹12.1 lakh.

For hotels with four and five star ratings the fees is ₹19.30 lakh. In case of clubs, the number of members determines its license fees.