9th deadline ends on Aug 4, no liquor vend registered

The ninth deadline to get mandatory licence and registration under the Food Safety and Standards Regulations, 2011, is going to end on August 4, but not a single liquor vend in the district has come forward for registration and get a licence so far.

The ninth deadline to get mandatory licence and registration under the Food Safety and Standards Regulations, 2011, is going to end on August 4, but not a single liquor vend in the district has come forward for registration and get a licence so far.

A liquor shop near the bus stand in Jalandhar. (HT Photo)

The state food safety commissioner had written to the excise department to inform all liquor vend owners for compulsory enrolment, but the order failed to evoke any response.

The district has around 683 liquor vends, including 311 in the city.

Till June 30, the health department issued 601 licences and registered 2,430 food business establishments in the district.

An official said if the Union government does not extend the deadline after August 4, the department would start issuing challans to those who fail to enroll themselves under the Act.

He said the deadline for registration and getting licences was extended for eh ninth time on May 4 (the first ended on August 5, 2012) as the department did not receive the expected number of applications from this category keeping in view the number of vends in the district.

District health officer (DHO) Balwinder Singh asked liquor vend owners to do the needful before the deadline expired.

The DHO said that it was the last chance for them to enroll themselves failing which a fine of up to `5 lakh as per the business may be imposed on them.

“When I was in Kapurthala, no liquor vend contractors had come forward for registration and the situation is the same here as well,” the DHO said.

The registration was mandatory for all food businesses involved in food processing, manufacturing, catering or transportation, the DHO said.

Food safety commissioner Hussan Lal said that he would again write to the excise department to inform the vends of the mandatory provision.