Bars may stay open 24/7 in Gurugram under latest Haryana excise plan

The new rules aim to counter the Capital’s excise policy under which bars and restaurants serving liquor can remain open till 3am, by allowing bars in the city to stay open till 8am as long as their owners pay the excise department an annual additional fee of ₹20 lakh, excise officials said.

Pubs and restaurants serving liquor in Gurugram will have the option to remain open 24/7 as part of the new liquor licensing policy announced by the Haryana government on Friday.

Bar/restaurant owners who would like to continue closing their establishments at 2am can continue paying the annual retail liquor licence fee of ₹18 lakh. (Representative image)

The new rules, which will come into effect from June 12, aim to counter the Capital’s excise policy which was released in November, under which bars and restaurants serving liquor can remain open till 3am, by allowing bars in the city to stay open till 8am as long as their owners pay the excise department an annual additional fee of ₹20 lakh, excise officials said. The new policy is also likely to bring down liquor prices as excise duty and value-added tax (VAT) on the sale of liquor has been reduced.

VK Beniwal, deputy commissioner of excise and taxation, Gurugram (east), said, “We have tried to make the policy pocket-friendly so that more people can start their operations in the city. Gurugram is developing and more malls and commercial spaces are coming up here. People will have more options to open pubs, bars and restaurants now.”

“Bars and restaurants can now operate 24x7. There will be no cap on timings for outlets that pay the additional liquor licence fee. They can start serving liquor from 8am — there is no restriction on them starting June,” Beniwal said, adding that even liquor vends start operating from 8am. He said that with the new policy, they are expecting new players in the market and more people from Delhi to open their outlets in the city.

Officials said they expected more than 150 applications this time. The total number of existing licences in the city is 276.

Ashish Dev Kapoor, founder of Whisky Samba Bar and Grill, said that they could not have asked for more. “The industry was hit badly due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The new policy is a lifeline and will help us recoup those losses. We will now start hiring more staff,” he said.

Officials said this year the policy was designed keeping in mind all the benefits Delhi was providing to its licensees. “This year, for the first time, Haryana has developed an online application system along the lines of Delhi,” said Rahul Singh, trustee, National Restaurant Association of India, adding the new policy is progressive and addresses the objective of revenue optimisation.