The Delhi government has ordered restobars, hotels and pubs to destroy alcohol that does not get sold within eight days at the “bar counters”. However, no such time limit has been fixed for bottles kept at stores.
The move is to prevent adulteration of alcohol that happens in bar counters, as bottles remain there for months, according to officials of Department of Excise Entertainment and Luxury Tax.
The Friday’s order, a modification of an order passed on Monday, has exempted hotels with 4 stars and above, unlike the previous order.
It has also exempted beer and liqour, whose 750 ml bottle’s MRP is below ₹1,500. The order will come into effect from Sunday.
One sealed bottle of every brand can be kept at the counter, without any restriction on time limit, the order also said.
Whenever a bottle is taken out of the store at a bar or restaurant, it is marked as sold in the records. “They then keep the bottles for months which results in adulteration of the liquor,” an official said.
Owners protest
Exemptions were declared in Friday’s order after associations of bars and restaurants raised their concerns about the earlier order.
“We had received complaints about bars mixing cheaper brands in the bottles of expensive liquor at the counters. We decided to fix no time limit for beer and liqour priced below ₹1,500, at counters, as we have received no complaint regarding adulteration of the same,” the official also said.
Champagnes and sparkling wines are now allowed to be kept at bar counters for three days. For whiskey and vodka bottles of 750 ml with the MRP between ₹1,501 and ₹4,500 have got the time limit fixed at eight days.
“Following the expiry of the abovesaid time limit, the stock of liquor that remains unserved shall have to be removed from the bar counter and destroyed within 7 days,” the Monday’s order read.
