Mumbai: In a move that has not only shook hoteliers but also patrons too as the state excise department has increased the annual fees recovered from all the bars by 15% and as much as 70% from the wine shops.
The government’s notification comes on the heels of the state cabinet deciding to allow the sale of wine in supermarkets and walk-in stores, including grocery shops across Maharashtra. The 15% hike is as per Rule 4 of the Maharashtra Potable Liquor (Periodicity and Fees for Grant, Renewal or Continuance of License) Rules, 1996.
The state government has justified the hike saying that it had rolled back a 15 per cent increase for 2020-21 and had also given a 50 per cent concession towards the payment of licence fees for 2020-21. For 2021-22, the government did not hike the licence fee, considering the pandemic situation. “The government has considered the demands made by the industry. Overall, the government has given a 33 per cent relief in licence fee to restaurants and bars in 2020-21 and 2021-22,” said an official.
The National Restaurant Association of India has, in a letter to Excise Minister Ajit Pawar urged the rollback of the 15 per cent hike, citing that the industry has been subjected to the most severe restrictions in Maharashtra over the last two years, ranging from complete shutdown to restricted use of capacity, truncated operating hours and the mandate to serve only to those double-vaccinated and more. The association’s Mumbai Chapter president Pranav Rungta also urged the minister to allow restaurants and bars to be allowed to pay the licence fee on a quarterly, instead of a yearly basis. This would allow them some liquidity support to enable them to pay salaries and rent on time.
Further, Rungta said the association has demanded that licence fees be charged on a pro rata basis to the capacity of restriction and the operation timings.
The Hotel and Restaurant Association (Western India) has demanded a 50 per cent waiver on licence fee for 2022-’23 and to allow payment in four instalments. “Presently, there is a considerable amount of fear and anxiety in the sector. Significant capital has been ploughed in the industry to reopen and restart operations. Also, there has been a lot of effort put in to bring back workers. Under these circumstances, it is impossible for FL3 (restaurants and bars) licence holders to pay licence fees,” said Sherry Bhatia, the association president.
Additionally, the Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHAR) president Shivanand Shetty has demanded that the state government waive 50 per cent licence fee for 2021-22 in view of the present delicate state of finances of the industry. “The 15 per cent rise in licence fee for 2022-23 needs to be rolled back. The industry has brought to the state government’s notice that establishments were closed for 81 days; for 48 days they were allowed to operate until 4pm, for 82 days allowed to operate until 10pm with 50 per cent capacity, for 66 days allowed to function until 12am, which helped the revenues to come to 50 per cent. The restaurants and bars were fully operational as per licensed timings for only 15 days of the 292 days for 2021-22,” he pointed out.
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