Only locals to get vends
Sanjeev K. Sharma
JAMMU, Sept 11: After the erstwhile J&K State was reorganized into two Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir & Ladakh following abrogation of Articles 370 and 35 A, the administration of Ladakh UT has come up with its maiden Excise Policy 2021-22 which will remain in force till March 31, 2022 but it can be revised at any point of time during this period by the administration of Ladakh.
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The detailed Policy has objectives ranging from easing licensing procedure for new applicants in underserved and un-served areas for checking bootlegging and smuggling of liquor from the neighboring States and UTs.
It also has a long list categorizing licenses from Type-A to Type-F mandated for starting wholesale to retail vends, bars and restaurants and bottling plants and distilleries.
As per the Policy document, Licenses for operating liquor vends in most of the categories shall be granted exclusively to the residents of Union Territory of Ladakh and the Policy document also clearly mentioned that there will also be different annual License Fee for different type of licenses with Rs. six lakh as the maximum fee for Type-F License (bottling plants, breweries and distilleries).
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However, the Policy also stated that application for manufacturing/bottling plant shall be cleared after checking availability of land, after obtaining No Objection Certificate from the agencies like FSSAI, Civil Authority, Pollution Control Board, Department of Industries and Deputy Commissioners of respective districts after due scrutiny of detailed project report and water analytic report.
“Excise Commissioner in respect of scrutiny of above reports may seek any other information from the applicant as he/she deems fit,” the Policy stated.
Apart from all this, the Policy also mentioned that Excise and Import Duty will also be there which will be different for different type of liquors while such Duties on CSD shall be 25 per cent less than that on civil for all types of liquors.
The Policy also outlined different Assessment Duties for different Type of licenses and additional Assessment Duty on sale of certain type of liquors.
The Policy document stated that in case of any difficulty in giving effect to the provisions of the Policy, the department with the approval of competent authority may, by order, make such provision including any adaptation/modification of provisions of this Policy.
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