UTTAR PRADESH EXCISE SETTLEMENT OF LICENCES FOR RETAIL SALE OF FOREIGN LIQUOR (EXCLUDING BEER AND WINE) RULES, 2001

PREAMBLE

In exercise of the powers under Section 41 of the United Provinces Excise Act, 1910 (U.P. Act No. 4 of 1910), read with Section 21 of the Uttar Pradesh General Clauses Act, 1904 (U.P. Act No. 1 of 1904), the Excise Commissioner, Uttar Pradesh with the previous sanction of the State Government, makes the following rules for determining consideration for and the manner of the grant of licence for exclusive privilege of retail sale of foreign liquor (excluding beer and wine) under Sections 24-A and 30 of the said Act on fixed licence fee in supersession of all previous rules published in this behalf to the extent of their inconsistency with these rules:

Rule 1. Short title and commencement.-

(i)       These rules may be called the "Uttar Pradesh Excise Settlement of Licences for Retail Sale of Foreign Liquor (Excluding Beer and Wine) Rules, 2001".

(ii)      They 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,-

(a)      "Act" means the United Provinces Excise Act, 1910 as amended from time to time;

(b)      "foreign liquor" means and includes spirit or liquors imported into India or spirit or liquors made in India and sophisticated or coloured so as to resemble in flavour or colour liquor imported into India and includes Malt Spirit, Whisky, Rum, Brandy, Gin, Vodka and Liquors;

(c)      "excise year" means the financial year commencing from 1st April to 31st March of the next calendar year;

(d)      "family" means and includes spouse (husband or wife), son(s), unmarried daughter(s) and dependent parents;

(e)      "form" means the form appended to these rules;

(f)       "Licensing Authority" means the Collector of the District;

(g)      "licence fee" means a sum fixed in consideration of the grant of the licence for exclusive privilege for selling of foreign liquor in a retail shop under Section 24-A 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;

(h)     "security amount" means a sum equal to ten per cent of the licence fee in cash to be deposited in Government Treasury as interest free security refundable after the final settlement of all the claims and dues to the State Government.

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 of the retail shop for sale of foreign liquor shall be settled or resettled by fixed fee system as specified herein.

(b)      The licence shall be granted in the Form F.L. 5-D for retail sale of foreign liquor in sealed bottles for consumption "Off' the premises.

Rule 4. Power to fix the number and location of retail shops.-

Number of shops shall be fixed by the licensing authority under general or specific instructions issued by the State Government or by the Excise Commissioner from time to time. Location of shop shall be as per the provisions of "Uttar Pradesh Number and Location of Excise Shop Rules, 1968" as amended from time to time.

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. Grant of Licence.-

The licence shall be granted on payment of licence fee and deposit of security amount.

Rule 7. Application 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 the retail shops of foreign liquor for which the Collector proposes to grant licence shall be exhibited along with shopwise licence fee and security at the Collector's Office, Tehsil Offices and the Office of the District Excise Officer and the Deputy Excise Commissioner of the charge.

(c)      Applications for grant of licence shall be made on prescribed form as appended to these rules.

(d)      The last date to be fixed for the receipt of application shall not be earlier than seven days with effect from the date of publication of the advertisement in a newspaper.

Rule 8. Eligibility conditions for applicants.-

Eligible applicants for licence of a retail foreign liquor shop must fulfil following conditions, namely:-

(a)      be a citizen of India,

OR

a partnership firm having not more than two partners who are citizens of India. No change in partnership shall be allowed after allotment of shop(s). However if a licence is jointly held by two partners, in the event of death of either of them, the survivor along with the successor of deceased shall continue to hold the licence or in case of death of both partners their successors may continue to hold the licence. No distinction will be made between the legal liabilities of the two partners who will be jointly and severally responsible;

(b)      be above 21 years of age;

(c)      not be a defaulter/blacklisted or debarred from holding an excise licence under the provisions of any rules made under the Act;

(d)      submit an affidavit duly verified by notary public as proof of the following, namely:-

(i)       that he possesses or has an arrangement for taking on rent a suitable premise in that locality for opening the shop in accordance with the provisions of Uttar Pradesh Number and Location of Excise Shop Rules, 1968 as amended from time to time;

(ii)      that his proposed premises of the shop have not been constructed in violation of any law or rules;

(iii)     that he and his family members possess good moral character and have no criminal background and have not been convicted of any offence punishable under United Provinces Excise Act, 1910 or Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 or any other cognizable and non-bailable offence;

(iv)    that in case he is selected as licensee he will furnish a certificate issued by Senior Superintendent of Police/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;

(v)      that he shall not employ any salesman or representative who has criminal background as mentioned in clause (iii) or who suffers from any infectious or contagious diseases or is below 21 years of age or a woman;

(vi)    that he is not in arrear of any public dues or Government dues;

(e)      furnish a bank draft drawn in favour of the District Excise Officer or Excise Commissioner, issued from a Scheduled Bank as earnest money. The amount of earnest money shall be as fixed by the Excise Commissioner. In case the applicant is selected as licensee, the earnest money shall be adjusted against the licence fee. In other cases it shall be returned as such to the applicant as soon as the selection process is over.

Rule 9. District level committee.-

There shall be a district level committee for selection of licensees for retail sale of foreign liquor. The committee shall consists of the,-

Rule 10. Selection of licensee.-

(a)      The District Excise: Officer shall prepare a list of all applications received with summary report to be put before the District Level Committee for licencing.

(b)      The said committee shall select licensees from the list of applicants. In case there are more than one suitable applicant for any particular shop, the committee shall select the licensee for such shop by public lottery. In case the selected applicant does not deposit the required amount and does not fulfil the prescribed formalities or is unable to arrange suitable premises for the shop within stipulated period, the Licensing Authority shall cancel the allotment and take steps for resettlement of the shop.

(c)      In case there is no application for a particular shop or no candidate is found suitable for a shop, the Licensing Authority shall take immediate steps for resettlement of the shop.

Rule 11. Statement of settled shops.-

A statement of the settled shops along with names and addresses of the licensees, details of security amount and licence fee deposited shall be sent by the District Excise Officer to the Excise Commissioner within 15 days of the settlement.

Rule 12. Payment of licence fee and security amount.-

In case an applicant is selected as licensee, he shall deposit the entire amount of licence fee and half the security amount within 3 days of being informed of his selection and balance amount within next 20 days. If he fails to deposit the amount of licence fee and security amount within prescribed period, his selection shall stand cancelled and his earnest money shall be forfeited in favour of the State Government and the said shop shall be resettled forthwith. The defaulter shall be debarred from holding any excise licence in future anywhere in the State. A consolidated list of such defaulters under this rule, along with their complete address shall be forwarded by the District Excise Officers to the Excise Commissioner, who will circulate the consolidated list of the State to the Licensing Authorities of the State.

Rule 13. Lifting of liquor.-

The licensee under these rules shall obtain supplies of foreign liquor from an)' wholesale licence of the charge after making full payment of cost price of foreign liquor including all taxes, duties and cess as levied from time to time. If any specific/particular brand of foreign liquor is not available in wholesale licence or licences of his charge the same may be procured from any other wholesale licence of zone with prior permission of the Deputy Excise Commissioner of his charge.

Rule 14. Maximum retail price.-

The maximum retail price, as fixed by Excise Commissioner on approval of the State Government, shall be printed on the labels of bottles of foreign liquor. The licensee shall not charge from consumers more than the maximum retail price printed on the labels of bottles.

Rule 15. Hours of sale and closure of shops.-

The licenced premises shall remain open for sale on all days from 10.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m., except on 14th April (Ambedkar Jayanti), 15th August (Independence Day), 2nd October (Gandhi Jayanti), 26th January (Republic Day) and up to 3 more days as notified for closure by the Licensing Authority. Licensing Authority may also order for closure of shop on account of law and order or General Election related activity under the provisions of relevant laws. No compensation shall be given for the closure of shop on above grounds.

Rule 16. Disposal of balance sk left at the expiry of the licence.-

Any balance of foreign liquor quantity found outstanding and unsold at the expiry of the term of licence shall be declared by the licensee to the Licensing Authority on the next day, and shall be returned by him to the concerned wholesale shop(s) of the district by 5.00 p.m. of the next date of expiry of licence. The licensee shall be entitled to get the refund of cost price only, excluding duty and other taxes. The disposal of such sk shall be made by the wholesale licensee as per orders of the Excise Commissioner in this regard.

Rule 17. Surrender of licence.-

A licensee may surrender his licence after giving at least one month's notice in writing to the Licensing Authority under provisions of Section 36 of the Act. On receipt of such application the Licensing Authority will take steps for recovering all outstanding excise dues from his security deposit and refund the balance amount after obtaining orders of the Excise Commissioner. The Licensing Authority shall also proceed for resettlement of the shop without delay for the remaining period of the excise year.

Rule 18. Suspension and cancellation of the licence and penalties.-

(1)     Licensing Authority may suspend or cancel the licence:

(a)      if any bottle is found in the licenced premises on which duty has not been paid and which does not carry security hologram duly approved by the Excise Commissioner as a proof of payment of duty;

(b)      if any other kind of liquor of intoxicating drug (for which licence is not granted) is found in the licenced 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 other law for the time being in force relating to revenue, or of any cognizable and non-bailable offence, or any offence punishable under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 or of any offence punishable under Sections 482 to 489 of the Indian Penal Code; and

(e)      if any bottle is found in the licenced premises on which maximum retail price is not printed.

(2)     The Licensing Authority shall immediately suspend the licence and forfeit the security deposit on abovementioned 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 notice. Thereafter the Licensing Authority will pass suitable orders after giving due opportunity of hearing the licensee, if he so desires.

(3)     The licensee shall not be entitled to claim any compensation or refund for suspension or cancellation of licence under this rule.

(4)     In case the licence is cancelled on the abovementioned grounds the licensee may also be blacklisted and debarred from holding any excise licence in future.

Rule 19. Rescission and saving.-

(i)       The Uttar Pradesh Excise Licences (Tender-cum-Auction) Rules, 1991 published with Excise Commissioners saving Notification No. 10702/ X-97 B-Licence-1991-92, dated February 23, 1991, amended up to date is hereby rescinded.

(ii)      Notwithstanding such a rescission settlement already executed for the shops or groups of shops of foreign liquor for the Financial Year 2000-2001 under the provisions of the rule referred to in sub-rule (i) shall remain valid and continue in force till March 31, 2001.

Application for the Grant of Licence for Retail Sale of Foreign Liquor (Except Beer and Wine) (For sale "Off" the premises) in Form FL 5-D

[Rule 7(c)]

Details of the Shop applied for

Details of the Applicant

In case of co-applicant, photograph of co-applicant and details at Serial Nos. 1 to 5 be also given)

The above information is true to the best of my/our knowledge. In the event of above information being found incorrect, my/our application shall be liable to be rejected and earnest money shall be liable to be forfeited. If above details are found to be incorrect subsequent to the grant of licence, it shall render my/our licence liable for cancellation and forfeiture of licence fee and security deposit made by me/us. I/We am/are aware that submission of false or incorrect information is a penal offence.

Signature(s)/thumb impression(s) of the Applicant(s) (with Date)