UP Government to increase license fee for foreign liquor by 20 percent, and beer by 15 percent

As a part of the 2020-2021 excise policy. the Uttar Pradesh state cabinet on Wednesday said that “It has given an approval to increase the license fee for foreign liquor by 20 percent, beer by 15 percent, and 10 percent increase for country liquor.”

While addressing the media, Sanjay Bhoosredyy, Principal Secretary, Excise said, “To make the excise policy simple and transparent. The renewal of licenses will be done through e-lottery, and under the new policy, one person will be allowed to have only two shops in the state.”

“The beer shop will now be able to sell wines. Whereas the license fee will be charged to serve liquor in luxury trains and cruises within the state boundary” he said.

“The license will be given to airport lounges and hotels located outside the airport where the flight passengers stay. The bar codes will be put in all liquor bottles so that consumers can check whether the liquor is original or not,” Bhoosreddy said.

Speaking on the license fee, Bhoosreddy said, “The license fee to serve liquor in hotels located in small towns will be Rs 2.5 lakh per anum. For 50-room hotel the license fee is fixed at 10 lakh for category-1 cities (hotels/restaurants and clubs in Gautam buddh nagar, Ghaziabad district, municipal corporation area of Kanpur Nagar, Agra, Prayagraj, Lucknow, and Varanasi).”

“For category -2 cities the license fee to serve liquor has been fixed at Rs 7.50 lakh (This includes municipal corporation areas of Bareilly, Aligarh, Gorakhpur, Jhansi, Mathura, Meerut, Moradabad, Saharanpur, Ayodhya, and Firozabad),” he said.

“The License fee for category-3 cities is Rs 5 lakh, and for category-4 cities, it is Rs 2.50 lakh respectively,” he said.