The Accountant General (AG) is investigating whether the sanctioning of bar licences during 2011-16 was “transparent, non-arbitrary, and as per due process.”
The potentially explosive audit comes hard on the heels of the registration of a vigilance case against former Excise Minister K. Babu on July 21 on allegations related to bar licence allocation during the same time span.
Auditors working for Amar Patnaik, Principal Accountant General (PAG), Economic and Revenue Sector Audit, are investigating whether the Excise Ministry had adhered to the principles for granting bar licences. They are also examining whether the licences were accorded on a first come, first served basis to eligible applicants and whether the reasons for rejection of permit requests have been entered in government files.
The “preliminary finding” is there was “suspected arbitrariness in sanctioning liquor licences” and seniority in application seemed to have been overlooked in some cases, top officials privy to the process told The Hindu .
The auditors are also examining whether there has been any revenue loss due to deceitful classification of hotels to gain new licence or maintain existing ones. Sales and turnover tax are assessed on the basis of classification and licence conditions also vary according to star status.
The audit is also focussed on whether the 200 m “distance factor” from religious places of worship, schools, burial grounds and SC/ST colonies was met when granting bar licence. A specific complaint under scrutiny was that the distance factor was ignored in the case of a bar hotel in Maradu municipality in Ernakulam. The issue had become contentious and boiled over into a row between the previous government and the local Congress leadership.
The audit also aims at assessing whether the Excise enforcement of licence conditions in bars, beer parlours and State-owned liquor outlets met norms. It is also likely to throw light on the growing conflict of interest between the State’s position as a liquor retailer and its constitutional role as an Excise enforcer.
