Keralam Bar Licence Renewal: No Renewal for Unclassified Hotels

Keralam will not renew bar licences for hotels whose applications for star classification the Union Tourism Ministry has rejected, Excise Minister M Liju announced on Monday, 9 November, according to a PTI report. The state will take the same position in the bar licence cases pending before the Kerala High Court. The minister gave no date from which the rule applies and no count of affected hotels.

Hotels Without a Star Rating Face Closure of Their Bars

Star classification is mandatory for a hotel to get its bar licence renewed. After the Covid-19 pandemic, delays in processing led the state to renew licences with the Tourism Department’s approval while classification was pending. That relief now ends for hotels whose applications were turned down. The government will decide on action once it receives details of the affected hotels from the Union ministry, the minister said, and the Tax Secretary is awaiting that information.

A Month of Bar Licence Rows

The announcement follows a series of moves on bar licences since the UDF government took charge. Three excise officials were suspended for granting licences to three hotels in Ernakulam and Kottayam districts, which the government says went against its stand that no licences be issued until a new liquor policy is framed. On 2 November, Liju said an inquiry would examine whether licences were granted hastily, and that the law would be amended if needed.

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On 3 November he said more than 400 bar licences granted under the previous LDF government would be re-examined. He argued that loopholes let establishments that later gained a higher rating apply for licences. In March this year, Onmanorama reported that the then government had renewed licences for unclassified hotels ahead of the assembly polls. The previous government’s position, the minister noted, was that establishments should not be shut because of the Union ministry’s delays.

High Court Deadline of 30 November

The Kerala High Court has given the government until 30 November to decide on pending bar licence applications, PTI reported on 2 November. Hotels with rejected classification are the first group likely to be affected. What the government will do about hotels whose applications are still undecided has not been stated. More local government stories are on the Daily Updates page.

Source: Based on reporting by Business Standard (PTI), The Week (PTI) and ThePrint.

Image: Wikimedia Commons.