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Punjab Liquor License

Punjab Liquor License is a document of permission granted to a businessman/trader to alcoholic beverages to its bonafide members for consumption in the prescribed premises. It is illegal for any citizen to manufacture, dispense or sell intoxicating alcohol without a valid Punjab Liquor License. The Government of Punjab has established various rules and regulations under the Punjab Liquor License Rules, 1932 to regulate the consumption and sales of liquor, making it mandatory to acquire a liquor license for restaurants, hotels, clubs etc. In this article, we look at the procedure for obtaining the Punjab Liquor License in detail.

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Punjab Liquor License Rules

Punjab Liquor License is mandatory under the provisions of Punjab Liquor License Rules. This act moderates the import, manufacture, distribution and sale of liquor which includes spirits, Liquor, Tari, Pachawar, Beer, IMF and all liquid consisting of alcohol. Beer includes ale, stout, porter and all other fermented Liquors made from malt.

IMFL means foreign Liquor made in India, i.e. Indian Made Foreign Liquor

Importance of  Punjab Liquor License

Some of the significance of obtaining the Punjab Liquor License is explained here: Liquor License is used to mitigate the additional sale of liquor; drug licenses are provided for monitoring the mechanism.

• It is illicit for any person to distribute manufacturer sell intoxicating liquor without a liquor license issued by the Punjab Government
• There is a requirement to regulate the selling of alcohol and to maintain the health and peace in the State, there is a requirement to monitor the sale of liquor, and hence a liquor license is necessary.

Know more about Licenses and Registration Required for Hotel Business

Eligibility Criteria

The following types of applicant can apply for liquor license in Punjab:

• An individual
• A body incorporated under the Companies Act
• Societies registered under the co-operative societies act
• A partnership or firm

Know more about Licenses and Registrations Required for Restaurant

Punjab Liquor License for Society

When a liquor license is granted to a company or society, it must show the name of the individual as an agent. On the application of the firm or society, the representative licensee can be changed by the authority competent to renew the license.

Punjab Liquor License for Partnership firm

When a liquor license is issued to a partnership or firm not incorporated under any act, all the individuals comprising the partnership firm should be specified on the liquor license

Classes of Punjab Liquor License

According to the Punjab Liquor License Rules, 1932, Punjab liquor License can be classified in the following categories:

• Foreign liquor License
• Country Spirit License
• Rectified Spirit License
• Country Fermented Liquor

Prescribed Authority

Excise and Taxation Department, Government of Punjab issues Punjab liquor license. The prescribed authority for issue Punjab liquor licenses are tabulated here:

S.No	Type of License		Authority Empowered to
			Grant License	Renew
Foreign liquor License
1	Form L 1	Wholesale and retail vend of foreign liquor to the trade	Excise Commissioner	District Excise and Taxation Officer
2	Form  L 2	Wholesale and retail vend of foreign liquor to public only	Ditto	Ditto
3	Form  L 2A	Retail vend of foreign liquor to expatriated employees	Ditto	Collector
4	Form L 3	Retail vend of foreign liquor in a hotel	Ditto	District Excise and Taxation Officer
5	Form L 3A	For the possession and consumption of liquor in hotels	Ditto	Ditto
6	Form L 4	Retail vend of foreign liquor in a restaurant	Ditto	Ditto
7	Form L 5	Retail vend of foreign liquor in a bar attached to a restaurant (Supplementary of Form L-4)	Ditto	Ditto
8	Form L 6	Retail vend of foreign liquor in a railway refreshment room	Ditto	Ditto
9	Form L 7	Retail vend of foreign liquor in a railway dining car	Ditto	Ditto
10	Form L 8	Retail vend of foreign liquor off the premises (Supplementary to Nos.L-3,L-4, L6, and L-7),	Ditto	Ditto
11	Form L 9	Retail vend of foreign liquor in a military canteen	Collector	District Excise and Taxation Officer e
12	Form L 10	Retail vend of beer for consumption on and off the premises	Ditto	Ditto
13	Form L 11	Bottling of foreign liquor	Excise Commissioner	Ditto
14	Form L 12	Vend of medicated wine	Collector	Ditto
15	Form L 12A	Temporary license for the retail sale of foreign liquor at a bar in a theatre or cinema or in any other temporary place of recreation	Ditto	Ditto
16	Form L 12B	License for the retail vend of foreign liquor at a bar attached permanently to a theatre or cinema or other such place of entertainment	Excise Commissioner	Ditto
Country Spirit
1	Form L 13	Wholesale vend of country spirit	Commissioner	Ditto
2	Form L 14	Retail vend of country spirit for consumption on the and off the premises	Collector	Not renewable
3	Form L 14A	Retail vend of country spirit for consumption off and on premises	Ditto	Ditto
4	Form L 14B	Retail vend of country spirit at a fair or on a special occasion	Ditto	Ditto
5	Form L 16	Reducing of country spirit Denature Spirit	Commissioner	Ditto
6	Form L 17	Vend of denatured spirit wholesale and / or retail	Collector	District Excise and Taxation Officer
7	Form L 17A	Retail vend of rectified spirit denatured with two percent Kerosene oil for use as motor fuel	Collector	District Excise and Taxation Office
8	Form L 17B	Vend of Methyl Alcohol/Methanol wholesale and / or retail	Collector	District Excise and Taxation Office
Rectified Spirit
1	Form L 19	Vend of rectified spirit wholesale and/or retail
Country Fermented Liquor
1	Form L 20A	Vend of Tari	Excise Commissioner	Ditto
2	Form L 20B	Manufacture & retail vend of country fermented liquor	Collector	Not renewable
3	Form L 20C	Manufacture and possession of country fermented liquor for home consumption	Ditto	District Excise and Taxation Office
4	Form L 20D	Manufacture and possession of country fermented liquor for use on special occasion	1st class Collector	District Excise Officer or Excise Officer

Applicable Fee

The fees payable in respect of Punjab liquor licenses under these rules are of the following kind:

• Fixed fees
• Assessed fees
• Auction Fees
• Tender fees

The Fee for grant and renewal of the Punjab liquor license mentioned below will be charged at the rate indicated against each:

• Grant of License in form L-2 [for the retail sale of liquor] – Rs. 5,000 (one time at the head of the account of License)
• Renewal of License in Form L-2 [for the retail sale of liquor] – Rs. 1, 50,000 per annum

Exemption from Payment of Fee

A Punjab liquor license in form L-16 for the reduction of country spirit is exempted from payment.

Fixed and Assessed Fees

Punjab Liquor License in Form L-17

A license in form L-17 for vend of denatured spirit will be granted on fixed fees, in addition to the fee assessed according to the sale. The rates of fixed fees are given here: fees.

• 5,000 per annum for a license for one year to possess a quantity of five hundred gallons at one time
• 50,000 per annum for a license for one year to possess quantity exceeding five hundred gallons at one time

The assessment will be based on the following scale:

• Twenty-two rupees per imperial gallon
• Forty-four rupees per dozen quartz bottles, in possession of the license

Note: The fixed fee is payable in advance and the assessed fee will be recovered at the time of issue of the license in form L 32. No assessment fee will be charged with the quantity of denatured spirit on which such fee has already been recovered in Punjab.

A license in form L17 for the retail vend of rectified spirit denatured with two per cent kerosene for use as motor fuel shall be granted on payment of a fee of rupees five.

Punjab Liquor License in Form L-17 –B

A license in form L17-B for vend of Methyl Alcohol/Methanol will be granted on fixed fees in addition to the fee assessed according to the sale. The following are the rate of fixed fees:

• 3000 per annum needs to be paid for a liquor license for one year to possess a quantity of 500 gallons at one time.

The assessment will be based on the following scale:

• Twenty-two rupees per imperial gallons
• Twenty-two rupees per dozen quart bottles, in possession of the licensee.

Note: The fixed fee is payable in advance, and the assessed fee will be recovered at the time of issue of the liquor permit in form L-32 A. Provided that no assessment fee will be charged with the quantity of Methyl Alcohol/Methanol on which such fee has already been recovered in Punjab.

Assessed Fees

The following Punjab liquor licenses are granted on assessed fees:

• Wholesale and retail vend of the foreign liquor to the public only
• Retail vend of foreign liquor in bars attached to a restaurant
• Retail vend of foreign liquor in restaurants
• Retail vend of foreign liquor to an expatriated employee
• Retail vend of foreign liquor in hotels or dak bungalow
• Retail vend of foreign liquor in the railway dining cars
• Retail vend of foreign liquor in the railway refreshment rooms
• Retail vend of foreign liquor at the bar attached permanently to a theatre or cinema or another such place of entertainment

Auction Fee

The following liquor licenses are granted on fee fixed by auction; the Excise Commissioner grants any license on payment of a fixed fee:

• A liquor license for the retail vend of country spirit for consumption on any of the premises
• A liquor license for the retail vend of country spirit for consumption off the premises
• A liquor license for the retail vend of country spirit on special occasions
• A license for the manufacture and retail vend of country fermented liquor

We have here with attached a document for Punjab Liquor license fee:Licences_Fees_GRANTING AUTHORITIES

Punjab Liquor License Application Procedure

The application procedure to obtain Punjab Liquor License is explained in step by step procedure here.

Step 1: To obtain Punjab Liquor license, you need to access the official website of Excise and Taxation Department. From the home page select the e-licensing option.

Step 2: The link will redirect to the new page. Select the application for other than a retail license from the drop-down menu under application Type.

Step 3: On selecting the application type, the application form for Grant of the new liquor license will be displayed. You need to provide the following details in the Punjab Liquor license application:

• Applicant Details – Applicant Name and PAN Number
• License Type Details – License Type, Pre-requisite license type, Subcategory, and Constitution of business

Step 4: On the selection of license type and Constitution of business from the drop-down menu, the application form for other details will be displayed.

• Address of Proposed Business
• Director’s Details
• Permanent Residential Address

Step 5: After providing details you can review the application form by clicking on Review button shown under the bottom.

Step 6: Once the details are correct, you can click on the submit button. The link will redirect to e-payment page.

Step 7: You can pay the license online through net banking. Refer above document for fee details.

Step 8: After success payment of license fee, a slip with application number will be displayed, and the application will be forwarded to concerned authority login.

Note: You need to note the application number, which can be used for future reference.

Status of Application

The status of Punjab liquor license will be updated through mobile. You can also check the status through Excise and Taxation Department website. From the home page select ‘track your application’ option.

By providing the application number, the status of Punjab liquor license will be issued.

Get Punjab Liquor License

Once the concerned authority approves the request, the Punjab Liquor License will be digitally signed. The Tamil Nadu Factory license will be forwarded through registered mail ID.

The Punjab Liquor License will be dispatched through courier from respective office to applicant’s address if the delivery type is selected as speed post local or non-local.

Punjab Liquor License Renewal Procedure

Punjab Liquor License needs to be renewed not less than one month before the earliest day on which liquor license expires. The applicant has to apply for bar license renewal in the prescribed format to concerned authority as mentioned above.

Non-Renewal of the liquor license within the time limit may result in loss of eligibility for insurance coverage and appropriate legal action by Punjab Government, Excise Department or any other Department body.

The fee and procedure of renewal of Punjab Liquor License are same as explained above.