Hoteliers seek cut in bar licence fee in excise policy

QUOTE

High bar licence fee is a big worry for our industry. The government had fixed the bar licence fee for all cities keeping in mind the population and demand in Gurugram and Faridabad while the population of other cities like Jind, Karnal, Hisar, Hansi, Bhiwani, Fatehabad, Yamunanagar, Rohtak and others is less than 5 lakh and those cannot be compared to metro cities

Col Manbeer Choudhary (retd), veteran president, HRAH

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Parveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, January 24

Ahead of the new Excise Policy-2020, hoteliers of the state have demanded that the state government should reduce the bar licence fee especially in towns having population less than 5 lakh.

They also requested the state government not to consider all districts on a par with Gurugram and Faridabad as the population of those cities is higher than the other cities of the state.

Besides, they demanded strict steps against the banquet and party lawns which serve liquor illegally during weddings and other functions.

The liquor fee per function, which is currently Rs 5,000 only, should be higher, said Col Manbeer Choudhary (retd), veteran president, Hotel and Restaurant Association of Haryana (HRAH).

“On dry days, bars should be allowed to open after 6 pm as is being done in Punjab and Chandigarh,” he suggested.

Choudhary, who is former president of Federation of Hotels and Restaurants Association of India (FHRAI), said that they had a meeting with Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala along with senior officers of the Excise Department few days back. At the meeting, hoteliers apprised them about the problems being faced by the hotel and restaurant industry.

“High bar licence fee is a big worry for our industry. The government had fixed the bar licence fee for all cities keeping in mind the population and demand in Gurugram and Faridabad while the population of other cities like Jind, Karnal, Hisar, Hansi, Bhiwani, Fatehabad, Yamunanagar, Rohtak and others is less than 5 lakh and those cannot be compared to metro cities,” he said.

“The neighbouring states are charging very less bar fee and their hotel and tourism industry is flourishing day by day while the industry in Haryana is on the verge of closure,” he said.

Citing bar licence fee of various states, he said, “In Haryana, the bar licence fee is Rs 12 lakh for normal category, Rs 20 lakh for three star, Rs 38 lakh for four star and Rs 45 lakh for five star along with Rs 5 lakh as security in each category. In Himachal Pradesh, it is Rs 2 lakh each for normal category and classified hotels and Rs 40,000 for beer and wine bar licence fee. In Uttarakhand, it is Rs 2.5 lakh each for normal and classified hotels category and Rs 1 lakh for beer and wine bar licence fee. In Punjab, it is Rs 3.25 lakh for normal category, Rs 5.5 lakh for five star classified hotels and Rs 2 lakh for beer and wine licence. In Chandigarh, the bar licence fee for normal category is Rs 7.5 lakh; for four star and above classified hotels, it is Rs 12 lakh; and for beer and wine bar licence, it is Rs 2.75 lakh.”

“We suggested that the cities below 5 lakh population should have a lower bar fee -– Rs 10 lakh for five star, Rs 8 lakh for four star, Rs 7 lakh for three star and Rs 6 lakh for normal category,” he said.

He maintained that the illegal sale of liquor and no check on drinking at public places were also harming the industry. The government must take stringent steps on drinking in the open.