Delhi government waives 2 month-licence fee for bars in hotels due to lockdown

New Delhi, July 01: In a relief for the hospitality sector, the Delhi government has waived two months of licence fee of bars in hotels and restaurants that were closed due to lockdown during the second wave of COVID-19 infection in the city.

The move will help hotels, restaurants, guest houses, motels and clubs in the city that serve liquor in saving money ranging from a few thousand to lakhs of rupees. Delhi went into a lockdown when it was hit by a second wave of COVID-19 infections.

All bars in the hotels and restaurants were closed from April 16 to June 20 following an order from the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA). The Excise Department had last month directed the licence holders to pay the fee for extension of their excise licence from July 1 to September 30.

"Considering the impact of COVID-19 and lockdown on hotels and restaurants in Delhi, the competent authority in view of the provision of Rule 49 of Delhi Excise Rules 2010, has decided that the lockdown period (April 16 to June 20) may be treated as deemed cancellation of licences," said an order of the Excise Department on Wednesday.

Accordingly, the licence fee paid by the licensees for the first quarter of 2021-22 may be adjusted towards the second quarter (July 1 to September 30), it said. The department has also extended the last date of payment of the licence fee for the second quarter from June 30 to July 31.

The order will benefit licence holders of L-15/L-15 F, L-16/L-16F, L-17/L-17F, L-18/L-18F, L-19/L-19F, L-20/L-20F, L-28/L-28F, L-29/L-29 F. The department directed the licensees to pay the remaining balance amount of the licence fee of the second quarter (after adjustment) by July 31, failing which double the amount of the quarterly fee will be charged.