More Cheers! Not Just Wine Shops Government Will Allow Bars & Pubs to Sell Liquor effective 9 May- but ONLY Take-Away Orders
Mangaluru: On Thursday, 7 May when the new excise rates kicked in, liquor worth Rs 165 crore has been lifted from Karnataka State Beverages Corporation. This includes 27.56 lakh litres of IML worth Rs 152 crore and 5.93 lakh litres of beer worth Rs 13 crore. Looking at these enormous sale of liquor revenue since liquor shops were open on 4 May, now the state government has decided to allow the sale of liquor in pubs, bars and clubs also- But, excise officials say they will be allowed to sell only existing stock, and at MRP -a nd the sale has to be ONLY Take-Away Orders.
Since Monday, around 3,950 retail shops and 829 MSIL stores have been given permission to sell liquor. “We will now grant permission to those who have CL-7 and CL-9 licences to sell liquor. This includes boarding and lodging facilities as well as bars and restaurants,” said a circular from excise department. So now, starting tomorrow, Saturday 9 May, tipplers all over Karnataka will be allowed to buy alcohol from their local bars and restaurants- and an official order from Excise dept has already been sent to bars, pubs and clubs.
“These establishments will have to sell bottles at the MRP as the order is being issued to ensure that the stock is cleared,” said an excise official. He added that they will only be allowed to sell existing liquor and not procure new stock, until the lockdown is lifted, probably 17 May. Sources in the Federation of Wine Merchants’ Association, Karnataka, said they feared that the permission could be temporary, to exhaust stocks that remain locked inside bars. “We have been asking permission to operate regularly so that we can manage our overheads,” sources said. The federation also shot off a memorandum on Thursday to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, highlighting their problems. On May 6, it had asked the State government to allow the sale of liquor by other licence holders, too. In the memorandum, they pointed out that there were huge stocks of beer lying in bars that would expire soon.
Bar owners said they procure liquor from the government-run Karnataka State Beverages Corporation Ltd. “As the government is not in a position to take back the stock, we told the government officials that we want permission to sell only so that we do not incur losses,” said a member of the Karnataka State Hotels’ Association. But liquor consuming inside the bars, pubs and clubs will be strictly prohibited. Only parcel of sealed bottle of liquor or beer will be permitted
The excise department has put the condition that it should be sold only at a maximum retail price (MRP). Otherwise, the license of the seller will be cancelled. Just like the wine/liquor shops timings, Pubs and clubs are allowed to function only between 9 am and 7 pm.
