Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena on Sunday approved a new Excise Policy, permitting the sale of hard liquor through retail vends, reducing documents to obtain a licence from 16 to six and extending the liquor availability to four more districts. The objective of the policy is curbing the growing dependence on narcotics and psychotropic substances and providing wider access to low-alcohol-content beverages through regulated channels.
The existing restrictive regime had led to an artificial scarcity of liquor, encouraging the consumption of smuggled and spurious alcohol as well as narcotic substances, officials said.Under the new policy, the sale of hard liquor, including Foreign Liquor and Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL), has been permitted through retail vends. Earlier, only beer, wine and ready-to-drink beverages could be sold through retail outlets, a spokesperson said.
In an expansion bid, the administration has decided to open 20 liquor vends through e-auction, compared to only two operational vends earlier, the spokesperson said.“Liquor availability will also be extended to the districts of Nubra, Changthang, Sham and Zanskar, whereas it was previously confined largely to Leh city”, officials said.
The policy also allows retail sale of liquor in guest houses and homestays upon payment of the prescribed licence fee, the officials said.“Beer bars with micro-breweries have been permitted for the first time in Ladakh. Hotels will now be allowed to serve liquor within their premises, including guest rooms, instead of restricting consumption to bars alone,” they added.
Rationalisation of excise duty rates on liquor, beer and wine has been undertaken and a simplified duty structure with a uniform excise duty of Rs 500 per litre of pure alcohol across all IMFL brands has been introduced. “Manufacturers will also be allowed to undertake wholesale distribution of liquor to improve supply chains and availability of quality brands”, the spokesperson said.
To enhance ease of doing business, the number of documents required for obtaining an excise licence has been reduced from 16 to six, the officials said. “The requirement of obtaining the opinion of the district administration for grant of a licence has also been removed,” they added.
The policy further permits serving liquor at private functions and in banquet or party halls on payment of the prescribed fee, a provision that was not available earlier.To boost revenue, the annual fee for wholesale licences has been increased from Rs 3.5 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, the officials said, adding that the base price for retail vends has been fixed at Rs 60 lakh in Leh municipal wards and Rs 30 lakh in other areas.
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