The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Bill to amend Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act introduced

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 11, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Bill to amend Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act introduced

Special Correspondent

The Centre has been asking the State since 2001 to amend liquor laws

CHENNAI: Your choicest brand of liquor will be available shortly in the State and you will not have to pay heavily.

A Bill was introduced in the Assembly on Thursday to further amend the Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act, 1937 to enable this. The reason is that since India is a member of the World Trade Organisation and signatory to the GATT Agreement, it cannot restrict import of goods into the country.

The Centre has been asking the State since 2001 to amend its liquor laws to be in conformity with the WTO Agreement. In 2005, the Centre insisted that the State introduce the amendment and warned that other countries could take retaliatory steps if this was not done.

In November 2006, the Centre again pointed out that the present situation in Tamil Nadu could not be sustained if some country took the case to the WTO under the dispute settlement mechanism.

"It has, therefore, been decided to comply with the request of the Government of India and to amend the said Act accordingly," said the statement of objects and reasons of the Bill introduced in the Assembly by PWD Minister Durai Murugan.

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