CHHATTISGARH EXCISE SETTLEMENT OF LICENCES FOR RETAIL SALE
OF COUNTRY/FOREIGN LIQUOR RULES, 2002
PREAMBLE
In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of
Section 62 read with clause (d), (d-1), (e), (f) and (g); and clause (b) of
sub-section (1) of Section 18 of the Chhattisgarh Excise Act, 1915 (No. 2 of
1915), the State Government hereby, makes the following rules for the
establishment of country/foreign liquor shops in all revenue districts of the
Chhattisgarh State.
Rule - 1. Short title and commencement.
(i)
These rules may be called the
Chhattisgarh Excise Settlement of Licences for Retail Sale of Country/ Foreign
Liquor Rules, 2002.
(ii)
These rules shall come into force from
the date of their publication in the Gazette.
Rule - 2. Definitions.
In these rules, unless there is anything repugnant in the
subject or context :
(1)
"Act" means the Chhattisgarh
Excise Act, 1915 (No. 2 of 1915), as amended from time to time.
(2)
"Excise year" means the
financial year commencing from 1st April to 31st March of the calendar year.
(3)
"Form" means the form
appended to these rules,
(4)
"Licensing Authority" means
the Collector of the district.
(5)
"Licence fee" means a sum
fixed in consideration of the grant of the licence for exclusive privilege for
selling of country/foreign liquor in a retail shop under sub clause (h) of
clause (ii) of sub-section (2) of Section 62 of the Act as fixed by the Excise
Commissioner in consultation with the State Government from time to time for
the whole excise year or part thereof.
(6)
"Minimum month wise guaranteed
quantity" means the quantity of country/foreign liquor (spirit and malt)
as fixed by the licensing authority in accordance with the general or specific
instructions issued by the Excise Commissioner and guaranteed by the licensee
to be lifted by him for his retail sale shop/group of shops in a month of an
excise year for the purpose of retail sale which shall be fixed for any
country/foreign liquor shops/group of shops.
(7) "Security
amount" means a sum equal to 1/12th part of the amount of the fixed
minimum guaranteed quantity in ratio to the sum fixed in consideration of the
grant of license for sale of country/foreign liquor in a retail shop to be
issued from time to time by Excise Commissioner in consultation with State
Government for the whole excise year or part thereof, which is to be deposited
in Government Treasury/Sub-Treasury in cash or bank draft of nationalised banks
or banker's cheque or banker's cash order as interest free security refundable
after the final settlement of the claims and dues to the State Government.
(8) "Annual
quantity" means the sum total of the month wise guaranteed quantity of an
excise year.
Rule - 3. Settlement of Licences for retail sale.
(a)
Subject to the provision of these
rules and subject to the payment of licence fee and security amount the retail
shop/group of shops for sale of country/foreign liquor shall be settled or
resettled by fixed fee payable in 12 monthly installment system as specified in
the terms and conditions of licence.
[(a-1) In accordance to the general license condition 2 (1)
made under Chhattisgarh Excise Act, 1915 the licensee shall deposit the monthly
license fee of country/foreign liquor shop/group of shops on or before the
first working day of the month in the treasury/sub-treasury of the concerned
district, though he is entitled to deposit the monthly installment on the
seventh working day of that month.
(b)
[License shall be granted for retail sale of country and
foreign liquor on Annexure 1 and 2 with these amended rules in the form CS2D
and FL1D respectively]
Rule - 4. Formation of groups of liquor shops.
[(i) The licensing authority shall allot the group after
forming groups of each of three-three country/ foreign liquor shops
geographically neighbouring in which the retail shop of country/foreign liquor
shop of the same place shall be kept in one group. After allotting the group of
country/foreign liquor and after the advance money has been deposited the
licensing authority shall issue group-wise licenses.
(ii) The
licensing authority shall be authorised to reduce anyone shop or to add one/two
shops in the group out of the groups formed under sub-rule (1) with a view to
augment the revenue. He is also authorised to form group of five shops for hike
in Government revenue, which, however, is subject to prior permission of Excise
Commissioner.]
(iii) An
applicant/firm/company cannot obtain licences for more than two groups of
shops.
[(iv) The annual value of any group of the retail shops of
country and foreign liquor shouldn't exceed Rs. 8.00 crores, but if any such
group exceeding Rs. 8,00 crore is formed with a view to augment Government
revenue, the licensing authority must seek prior permission from Excise
Commissioner.]
Rule - 5. Period of licence.
The period of licence shall be for an excise year or part
thereof for which the licence has been granted. The licence may be renewed on
such terms and conditions as may be decided by the State Government.
Rule - 6. [Application fee with application.
The application fee with application for license of group
of liquor shops shall be as shown in the table below :
|
S. No.
|
Reserve price of the group
|
Prescribed Application Fees
|
|
1.
|
For group of shops of Rs. 5.00 Lakh to Rs. 1.00 crore
|
Rs. 5,00/-
|
|
2.
|
For group of shops above Rs. 1.00 crore to Rs. 2.00 crore
|
Rs. 1,500/-
|
|
3.
|
For group of shops above Rs. 2.00 crore to Rs. 8.00 crore
|
Rs. 2,500/-
|
The amount of application fee will neither be adjustable in
licence fees nor be refundable in case of not granting the license.]
Rule - 7. Issue of licence for liquor shops.
The licences for liquor shall be issued by the licensing
authority on deposition of the security amount and licence fee for the month in
advance by the licensee.
Rule - 8. Procedure for grant of licence.
(a)
Whenever a new licence is proposed to
be granted in an area or locality, the licensing authority shall invite the
applications for this purpose after giving wide publicity through daily
newspapers having circulation in that area.
[(b) A list of retail shop/shops of country/foreign liquor
group for which the licensing authority purposes to grant the license shall be
exhibited along with the annual fixed minimum guaranteed quantity, annual duty
amount, annual license fees, annual value, security money any a month's advance
license fees and the application fees prescribed for the group in the office of
Collector/Assistant Commissioner, Excise/District Excise Officer/
S.D.M./Tahsildar/Municipal Corporation/Municipal Council.
(c) Application
for grant of license shall be submitted to the licensing authority in the
prescribed form as appended to these rules as annexure along with affidavit and
prescribed application fees under Rule 6.
(d) The
last date to be fixed for the receipt of application shall not be earlier than
five days with effect from the date of publication of the advertisement in the
newspaper.]
Rule - 9. Eligibility Conditions for applicant.
The applicant has to fulfill the following conditions for
obtaining the licence for shop/group of shops of country/foreign liquor.
(a)
Should be a citizen of India or a
partnership firm whose partners are citizen of India. No change in partnership
shall be allowed after settlement of shop (s)/group of shops except with the
permission of the Excise Commissioner.
(b)
Should be above 21 years of age.
[(c) Should not be a defaulter/black listed or debarred
from holding an excise license under the provision of Rule 13 of these rules or
under the provision of any rule made under the Act.]
(d) Has
to submit an affidavit duly verified by public notary as proof of the
following, namely:
(1)
That he possesses or has an
arrangement for taking on rent suitable premises in that locality for opening
the shops in accordance with the rules.
(2)
That he possesses good moral character
and have no criminal background and have not been convicted of any offence
punishable under the Act or Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act,
1985 or any other law for the time being in force or any other cognizable and
non-bailable offence.
(3)
That in case he is selected as
licensee he will furnish a certificate, issued by Superintendent of Police of
the district of which he is the resident, showing that he as well as his family
members possess good moral character and have no criminal background or
criminal record, within thirty days of grant of licence.
(4)
That he shall not employ any salesman
or representative who has criminal background as mentioned in clause (iii) or
who suffer from any infectious or contagious disease or is below 21 years of
age or a woman.
(5)
That no government dues are
outstanding against him.
Rule - 10. District level committee for licensing.
There shall be a district level committee for selection of
licensees for sale of country/foreign liquor. The committee shall consist of
the
(i)
The Collector of the District Chairman
(ii)
The District Excise Officer/Asstt.
Member Secretary
Commissioner of the District.
Rule - 11. Selection of Licensee.
(a)
The member secretary of the committee
shall prepare a list of all applicants with summary report to be put up before
the district level committee.
(b)
The said committee shall select
licensees from the list of applicants. In case more than one applicants are
found suitable for any particular group of shops the committee shall select the
licensee for such group of shops by lottery (c) In case the selected applicant
does not deposit the required amount according to Rule 13 and does not fulfill
the prescribed formalities or is unable to arrange suitable premises for the
shops within stipulated period, the licensing authority shall cancel the
allotment and take steps for resettlement of the shops/group of shops.
(c)
In case there is no application for a
particular group of shops or no applicant is found suitable for a group of
shops, the licensing authority shall take immediate steps for resettlement as
per procedure laid down in Rule 8.
(d)
Licensing authority shall have the
right to reject application received for a group of shops without assigning any
reason.
(e)
The person in whose favour licence is
granted shall be bound by the terms and conditions of licence issued under Rule
3 (b).
Rule - 12. Statement of settled Shops.
A statement of the settled shops along with names and
address of the licensees, shop wise annual quantity, details of security amount
and licence fee deposited shall be sent by the District Excise Officer/Asstt.
Commissioner Excise to the Excise Commissioner within 15 days of the
settlement.
Rule - 13. Payment of licence-fee and security amount.
In case an applicant is selected as licensee, he shall
deposit one month's amount of licence fee and the security amount within three
days of being informed of his selection. If he fails to deposit the amount of
one month licence fee and security amount within prescribed period, his
selection shall stand cancelled and the said licensee shall be debarred from
holding any excise licence in future, anywhere in the State and his application
fee shall also stand forfeited. A consolidated list of such defaulters under
this rule, along with their complete addresses shall be forwarded by the
District Excise Officer/Asstt. Commissioner to the Excise Commissioner, who
will circulate the consolidated list of the State to all the licensing
authorities of the State.
Rule - 14. Lifting of liquor.
[(a) The licensee under these rules shall obtain supplies
of country liquor from manufacturing ware houses or bonded ware houses after
making payment of duty of country liquor and obtain supplies of foreign liquor
from Chhattisgarh State Beverages Corporation Ltd. after the making payment of
duty of foreign liquor and also its cost. The licensee shall place indent well
in advance for the supply of country/foreign liquor.]
(b) The
supplier/Chhattisgarh State Beverages Corporation Ltd. with whom the indent has
been placed shall record the date and time of receipt of indent and shall
ensure supply of the desired quantity of liquor as soon as possible.
[(c) The duty rate of country/foreign liquor for the year
2003-2004 shall be as shown in the table below :
|
S. No.
|
Kind of Liquor
|
Duty Rate
|
|
(1)
|
(2)
|
(3)
|
|
1.
|
Country Liquor
Masala 25.0 U.P.
Plain 50.0 U.P.
Rasi 70.0 U.P.
|
Rs. 48/Per PL.
|
|
2.
|
Foreign Liquor (SPIRIT)
|
|
|
|
S. No. Ex Factory Price
Per case means 12 bottles
|
Duty Rate
|
|
|
1. Up to Rs. 900/-
|
Rs. 70/- Per PL.
|
|
|
2. Above Rs. 901/-
|
Rs. 100/- Per PL.
|
|
3.
|
Foreign Liquor (MALT)
|
|
|
|
Beer (Malt Liquor)
|
Rs. 10/- per quart bottle.]
|
Rule - 15. Lifting of minimum Guaranteed Quantity fixed for the month, and consequences of failure.
[(a) The licensee shall deposit the whole amount of the
fixed minimum guaranteed quantity of the country/foreign liquor shop/group of
shops in the treasury/sub-treasury of the concerned district by the 25th day of
the month and submit the original challans to the Assistant
Commissioner/District Excise Officer of the District where issue may be made
till the month end. The unlifted quantity of liquor till the end of the month
shall be forfeited.
(b) In
the case the retail licensee fails to deposit the whole amount of the fixed
minimum guaranteed quantity of country/foreign liquors shop/group of shops and
fails to submit the original challan by 25th day of the month. As per clause
(a) the District Excise Officer/Assistant Commissioner Excise shall immediately
report the matter to the licensing authority who shall take action to impose
penalty in accordance to sub-clause (1) of clause (f) of sub-rule (1) of Rule
23. Adjusting the amount equal to the imposed penalty and the balance amount of
minimum guaranteed quantity from the security amount, the licensing authority
shall issue a notice to licensee to replenish the short fall in security amount
within a week and also show cause as to why the license should not be
cancelled. If the licensee fails to deposit the amount of deficit in security
amount and does not furnish suitable explanation within the stipulated period
his license/licenses of shop/shops or group shall stand cancelled. Thereafter
the licensing authority shall take necessary steps to resettle the shop/group
of shops.]
Rule - 16. [Lifting of country/foreign liquor in excess of minimum month wise guaranteed quantity.
The licensee may lift liquor more than the minimum month
wise guaranteed quantity at the prescribed duty rate only]
Rule - 17. Minimum retail selling price.
Minimum retail selling price of country/foreign liquor
shall be fixed by the Government for convenience of consumer. Retail selling
rates of country liquor on the bottles shall be printed by the supplier. A list
of retail selling rates of various brands of foreign liquor shall be displayed
by licensee at the visible spot of the shop. The licensee shall not charge less
than the fixed minimum retail price from the consumer.
Rule - 18. Licence for sub-shop of Country liquor.
Licence for sub-shop of country liquor may be granted by
the licensing authority for such licence fee and conditions as may be notified
by the Government. This licence shall be in form C.S. 2E appended as Annexure
3.
Rule - 19. Hours of sale and closure of shops.
The licensed premises shall remain open for sale on all
days from 10.00 a.m. to 10.30 p.m. except on 15th August (Independence day),
2nd October (Gandhi Jayanti), 26th January (Republic Day), 30th January
(Mahatma Gandhi Nirwan Diwas), Holi and Moharrum and up to 3 more days as
notified for closure by the licensing authority. Licensing authority may also
order for closure of shops on account of law and order or General Election
related activity under the provisions on relevant laws. No compensation shall be
given for the closure of shop on above grounds.
Rule - 20. Disposal of balance stock left at the expiry of the licence.
On the expiry of the licence the stock balance of country
liquor shall be disposed off as per general licence condition No. 25 and for
foreign liquor as per sub-rule (6) of Rule 18 of Chhattisgarh Foreign Liquor
Rules. 1996.
Rule - 21. Adjustment/refund of security amount.
The security amount shall be liable to adjustment against
the settlement of dues and claims to the Government of licence fee/duty penalty
or any other dues. Security amount shall be refundable after the final
settlement of all the claims and dues to the State Government.
Rule - 22. Surrender of licence.
A licensee may surrender his licence after giving atleast
one month's notice in writing to the licensing authority under provisions of
Section 33 of the Act. On receipt of such application the licensing authority
will take steps according to Section 33 of the Act. The licensing authority
shall also proceed for resettlement of the shop without delay for the remaining
period of the excise year.
Rule - 23. Suspension and cancellation of the licence.
(1)
Licensing authority may suspend or
cancel the licence :
(a)
If any bottle of liquor is found in
the licensed premises on which duly has not been paid and which does not carry
security hologram duly approved by the Excise Commissioner as proof of payment
of duty.
(b)
If any other kind of liquor or
intoxicating drug (for which licence is not granted) is found in the licensed
premises.
(c)
If the affidavit submitted by the
licensee at the time of application is found incorrect and assertions made
therein are found to be false.
(d)
If the licensee is convicted of any
offence punishable under the Act or any cognizable and non bailable offence or
any offence punishable under Sections 482 to 489 of the Indian Penal Code.
(e)
If any bottle is sold below the
minimum rate as fixed by the State Government under Rule 17.
(f) (i) If the
licensee of country/foreign liquor retail shop/group of shops fails to deposit
the whole amount of the fixed minimum guaranteed quantity by 25th day of the
month in the treasury/sub-treasury of the concerning district and submit the
original challan in the district office of the concerning district he shall be
liable for penalty at the rate of Rs. 48/- per RL. of country liquor, Rs. 71.50
per RL. of spirit and Rs. 10/-per bottle of malt on the amount of minimum
guaranteed quantity less deposited.
(ii) If the licensee fails to deposit the whole amount of
month wise fixed minimum guaranteed quantity and also fails to replenish the
shortfall in security amount within the period prescribed consequent of the
imposition of penalty.]
(2)
The licensing authority shall
immediately suspend the licence and forfeit the security amount on above mentioned
grounds. The licensing authority will also serve a show cause notice for
cancellation of licence and the licensee shall submit his explanation within 7
days of the receipt of the notice. Thereafter the licensing authority will pass
suitable orders after giving due opportunity of hearing to the licensee.
(3)
The licensee shall not be entitled to
claim any compensation or refund for suspension or cancellation of licence
under the rules.
(4)
In case the licence is cancelled on
the above mentioned grounds the licensee may also be blacklisted and debarred
from holding any excise licence in future.
Rule - 24. Repeal.
All rules corresponding to these rules in force immediately
before the commencement of these rules are hereby repealed irrespective of
matters covered by these rules.