The Hindu : Kerala News : Liquor sales to be liberalised

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Oct 14, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Liquor sales to be liberalised

By Our Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, OCT. 13. The Cabinet today approved the revised abkari policy for the current year, liberalising liquor sales. Various licence fees and fines specified under rules have been enhanced.

The Excise Department will introduce tinned toddy in the market. Bar licences and beer/wine parlour licences will now be given to two-star hotels. Bar licences will also be given to restaurants approved by the Tourism Department.

Grant of licence

Luxury boats in the tourism sector with an investment of over Rs.1 crore will be eligible for grant of beer/wine licence. Luxury boats with an investment of Rs.5 crores or above will be eligible for bar, beer or wine licence.

All bar licences, including those of approved restaurants existing as on April 2004, will be regularised. (This means that those who obtained licences in an irregular manner would continue to enjoy them.)

The rule that the foreign liquor and toddy shops should remain closed on the first day of the month will be withdrawn.

The number of fresh shops to be opened by the Kerala State Beverages Corporation and Consumerfed during 2004-05 will be limited to 50. The annual rental for these will be Rs.25 lakhs a shop. These shops will not be started within a radius of 200 metres from the existing bars.

Slab system

The slab-wise increase brought out in the bar licence fees during the current year will be dispensed with and a uniform rate of Rs.18 lakhs a shop will be collected as licence fee for 2004-05.

The annual rental for beer wine parlour will be enhanced from Rs.2 lakhs to Rs.3 lakhs.

The licence fee for pub-beer parlour will be enhanced from Rs.5,000 to Rs.50,000. The fee for special licence will be fixed as Rs.10,000 a day.

The fee for permit (issued under Sections 6 and 7 of the Abkari Act) will be enhanced from Rs.500 to Rs. 1,000. The fee for issuing no-objection certificate will go up from Rs.50 to Rs. 500.

The fee for purchasing foreign-made foreign liquor directly from the Customs will be enhanced from Rs.10,000 to Rs.20,000.

The fee for serving liquor in restaurants for persons other than residents will be fixed as Rs.10,000.

The licence fee to manufacture spirit in the distillery will be hiked from Rs.10,000 to Rs.1 lakh.

The licence fee for compounding and blending of Indian Made Foreign Liquor will be increased from Rs.25,000 to Rs.1 lakh.

The licence fee for bottling of foreign liquor will be enhanced from Rs.15,000 to Rs.1 lakh.

For establishing a warehouse for the deposit and keeping of spirit without payment of duty, it will go up from Rs. 3,000 to Rs. 25,000.

The licence fee to brew beer will be increased from Rs.10,000 to Rs.1 lakh and for bottling of beer for the purpose of sale from Rs.5,000 to Rs.50,000.

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