BIHAR PROHIBITION AND EXCISE (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2018 THE BIHAR PROHIBITION AND EXCISE (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2018 [Act No. 08 of 2018] An Act to Amend The Bihar Prohibition And Excise Act, 2016. [Bihar Act 20, 2016] Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Bihar in the Sixty Ninth year of the Republic of India as follows:- (1) This Act may be called the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2018. (2) It shall extend to the whole of the State of Bihar. (3) It shall come in to force at once and the provisions of the Amendment Act shall apply to all pending cases. Sub-section (58) of section 2 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, shall be substituted by the following:- "(58) - "Premises" means and includes land and such construction by way of a building, store, shop, hotel, restaurant, bar, booth or any other structure and movable structures including vessel, raft, vehicle and any other movable structure." Section 30 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, shall be substituted by the following :- "30- Penalty for unlawful manufacture, import, export, transport, possession, sale, purchase, distribution, etc. of any intoxicant or liquor.- Whoever, in contravention of any provision of this Act or of any rule, regulation, order made, notification issued there under, or without a valid license, permit or pass issued under this Act, or in breach of any condition of any license, permit or pass renewed or authorisation granted there under - (a) Manufactures, possesses, buys, sells, distributes, collects, stores, bottles, imports, exports, transports, removes or cultivates any intoxicant, liquor, hemp; or (b) Constructs or establishes or works in any manufactory, distillery, brewery or warehouse; or (c) Manufactures, uses, keeps or has in his possession any material, utensil, implement or apparatus, or uses any premises, whatsoever, for the purpose of manufacturing any intoxicant or liquor; or (d) Manufactures any material or film either with or without the State Government logo or logo of any State or wrapper or any other thing in which liquor or intoxicant can be packed or any apparatus or implement or machine, for the purpose of packing any liquor or intoxicant; or (e) Removes any liquor or intoxicant from any distillery, brewery, warehouse, other place of storage licensed, established, authorized or continued under this Act; or (f) Manufactures, possesses, sells, distributes, bottles, imports, exports, transports or removes, any preparation made with or without the use of any intoxicant or liquor, which can serve as an alcohol or a substitute for alcohol and is used or likely to be used or consumed for the purposes of getting intoxicated; shall be punishable with imprisonment for the term which may extend to life and with fine which may extend to ten lakh rupees. Provided that the punishment: (a) For the first offence shall not be less than five years imprisonment and fine of not less than one lakh rupees, and (b) For the second and subsequent offences shall not be less than ten years rigorous imprisonment and fine of not less than five lakh rupees." Section 32 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, shall be substituted by the following:- "32- Presumption as to commission of offence in certain cases.- (1) In prosecution of an offence under this Act, the accused person would have to account for the possession of any liquor, intoxicant, material, utensil, implement or apparatus involved in manufacture or storage of such liquor. (2) In the event of a failure to offer a satisfactory explanation, there shall be a presumption that the accused person is guilty of the commission of such offence, unless proved otherwise. (3) Where any equipment, machinery, animal, vessel, cart, vehicle, conveyance or any premises are used in the commission of an offence under this Act, and are liable to confiscation and/or liable to be sealed, the owner or occupier thereof would need to account satisfactorily, and in the absence of a satisfactory explanation the presumption that accused person committed the offence shall arise, unless proved otherwise." Section 33 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, shall be substituted by the following:- "33- Penalty for rendering denatured spirit fit for human consumption.- Whoever alters or attempts to alter any denatured spirit with the intention to make it fit for human consumption, whether as a beverage or as a medicine, or in any other way and by any other method or knowingly possesses any altered denatured spirit, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years but which may extend to imprisonment for life and with fine which shall not be less than one lakh rupees but which may extend to ten lakh rupees." Section 34 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, shall be substituted by the following:- "34-Penalty for mixing noxious substance with liquor.- Whoever, (a) mixes or permits to be mixed with any liquor sold or manufactured or possessed by him, any noxious drug or any poisonous ingredient; or (b) makes, sells or possesses any preparation, whether solid, semi solid, liquid, semi liquid or gaseous, either made locally or otherwise, that may serve as an alcohol or a substitute for alcohol and is used or consumed for the purposes of getting intoxicated which is likely to cause disability or grievous hurt or death to human beings, shall be punishable:- (i) if as a result of such an act, death is caused, with death or imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine, which shall not be less than five lakh rupees but which may extend to ten lakh rupees; (ii) if as a result of such an act, disability or grievous hurt is caused to any person, with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and with fine which shall not be less than two lakh rupees but which may extend to ten lakh rupees; (iii) if as a result of such an act, any other consequential injury is caused to any person, with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than eight years but which may extend to life imprisonment and with fine, which shall not be less than one lakh rupees but which may extend to ten lakh rupees; (iv) if as a result of such an act, no injury is caused, with imprisonment which shall not be less than eight years but which may extend to ten years and fine which shall not be less than one lakh rupees but may extend to five lakh rupees; Explanation:-For the purpose of this section the expression "grievous hurt" shall have the same meaning as in section-320 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (XLV of 1860)." The section 35 (Penalty for committing fraud) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, shall be deleted. Section 36 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, shall be substituted by the following:- "36- Penalty for dealing in spurious liquor.-- Whoever, manufactures, possesses, sells, stores, distributes, bottles, imports, exports, or transports any spurious liquor, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years but which may extend to imprisonment for life and with fine, which shall not be less than one lakh rupees but which may extend to ten lakh rupees." Section 37 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, shall be substituted by the following:- "37- Penalty for consumption of liquor.- Whoever, in contravention of this Act or the rules, notification or order made there under - (a) consumes liquor or intoxicant in any place; or (b) is found drunk or in a state of drunkenness at any place; or (c) drinks and creates nuisance or violence at any place including in his own house or premises; or (d) permits or facilitates drunkenness or allows assembly of drunken elements in his own house or premises; shall be punishable, (1) in case of an offence falling under clause (a) and (b), for the first offence only with fine which shall not be less than Fifty thousand rupees or in lieu thereof sentence for a period of three months imprisonment but for subsequent offence falling under clause (a) and (b), shall be punishable with a term which shall not be less than one year but may extend to five years and with fine, which may extend to one lakh rupees. (2) In case of an offence falling under clause (c) and (d), with a term which shall not be less than five years but which may extend to ten years and with fine, which shall not be less than one lakh rupees which may extend to five lakh rupees." Section 38 (Penalty for possession or knowledge of possession of intoxicant) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, shall be deleted. Section 53 (Enhanced punishment after previous conviction) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, shall be deleted. Section 54 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, shall be substituted by the following:- "54- Failure of occupier to disclose information of unlicensed manufacture or cultivation or consumption of liquor or intoxicant-- (1) Whenever any liquor or intoxicant or other excisable item is manufactured, sold, stored, bottled, possessed, consumed or any excisable plant is cultivated in contravention of this Act, occupier of that land or building or his agents, shall give information to the nearest excise official, police official or the Collector as soon as the fact comes to their knowledge. (2) Whenever occupier (s) of that land or building or his agents fail to disclose information as per subsection (1), such person or persons shall be liable to be punished for imprisonment up to two years." Section 56 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, shall be substituted by the following :- "56- Things liable for confiscation.-- Whenever an offence has been committed, which is punishable under this Act.- (a) any intoxicant or liquor unlawfully imported, transported, manufactured, sold, stored, possessed, material, utensil, implement, apparatus, package or covering and or the other contents, if any, of such receptacle, package or covering for the purposes of storing, manufacturing or labeling such intoxicant or liquor; (b) any animal, vehicle, vessel or other conveyance used for carrying any intoxicant or liquor; or (c) any premises or part thereof that may have been used for storing or manufacturing any liquor or intoxicant or for committing any other offence under this Act; shall be liable to be confiscated in a manner prescribed under the provisions of the Act, (d) The State Government, if deem necessary, may issue necessary directions, guidelines, Regulations and instructions with respect to mode and manner of search, seizure and confiscation." Section 62 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, shall be substituted by the following :- "62- Premises liable to be sealed.-- If it comes to the notice of any excise officer or any police officer, not below the rank of a Sub Inspector, that any liquor or intoxicant has been found at a particular premises or a particular premises or a part thereof is or has been used for committing any offence under this Act, he may immediately seal the premises and send a report to the Collector for the confiscation of the same. Provided that if the said premises are temporary structures which cannot be effectively sealed , then the excise officer or the police officer, with the order of the Collector, may demolish such temporary structures." Section 64 (Collective fine) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, shall be deleted. Section 66 (Externment etc of notorious or habitual offenders) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, shall be deleted. After sub-section (1) of section 76 of Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, the following proviso shall be inserted:- "Provided that offence committed for the first time under sub section (1) of section-37 and offence under section 54 of the Act shall be bailable."
Preamble - BIHAR PROHIBITION AND EXCISE (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2018PREAMBLE
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