GIFT CIty (img: GIFT City website)

Liquor relaxation in the dry state of Gujarat at the GIFT City is welcomed by many, opposed by some. However, as the initial commotion calmed down, all eyes are now on the details of the permit. On Dec 30, 2023, the prohibition and excise department released the official guidelines to answer the whats and the hows of the policy.

SOPs have been issued for FL-III licence holders, liquor access permit/temporary permit holders, licence recommending officials of companies, and the procedures to be followed by the authorities.

For Liquor access permit/temporary permit holders

1) Person obtaining a liquor access permit/temporary permit should be above the age of 21.

2) Before obtaining the permit, the existing laws and regulations must be vowed to be followed by the applicant.

3) A permit holder will have to present their permit for cancellation within the next working day after they leave GIFT City.

4 The permit holders must keep their permit and bills with them after consuming liquor, and it has to be produced if the competent authority demands to present it.

5) A liquor access permit holder shall remain with and accompany the temporary permit holder throughout the period in the ‘wine and dine’ area, and also ensure the temporary permit holders receive their digital bills.

6) The liquor access permit holders should keep their permits safe, and upon losing, damaging, or spoiling the written note, a new permit application procedure should be submitted immediately.

For recommending official

1) The permit application recommending officials in the company has to make the proposal only on the official letterhead of their company.

2) The person for whom the permit is applied for should be above 21 years of age. The permit has to be approved/applied for only after verifying the applicant’s age, permanent and temporary residence, employment support, and identity card, among other verifications.

3) The existing laws and regulations must be vowed to be followed by the applicant before recommending them a permit.

4) The recommending official shall disclose the updated list of liquor permit holders in their office to the authorised officer by 5th (fifth) of every month.

For FL-III licence holder

1) The licencee shall maintain daily fixed accounts of sale and purchase of liquor in specimen FLR- I, II, III, IV & V (Sample included).

2) The licencee shall not serve liquor to any person except those holding Liquor access permit and temporary permit.

3) No other person can operate under the licence except the authorised person.

4) The licence holders have to apply to the department’s district superintendent, Gandhinagar to obtain the employment certificate. Also, every person working under FL-III licence will have to issue an identity card to the licence holder and the same information will have to be given to the department’s district superintendent.

5) Liquor could be served to the access permit and temporary permit holders, which are approved by the authorised officer, only after confirming their permit validity.

6) The licence holder shall have a uniform code for their employees which includes their name plate.

7) The storage and inventory area where the sealed liquor bottles are to be kept must be under CCTV surveillance. Its recording has to be kept up to three months, and is to be produced whenever ordered by the director of the prohibition and excise department.

8) Liquor consumption in the premises under ‘wine and dine’ facilities shall be kept in a separate zone from the public places where non-permit holders’ movement is frequent.

9) Every person entering the ‘wine and dine’ facility area must be authorised/permit holder.

10) The licencee shall maintain his own security staff at the entrance to the ‘wine and dine’ area.

11) Liquor access permit holders have to show their permit at the entrance of the area. Similarly, in case of temporary permit holders, their entry will only be authorised under the permit of the access permit holder. They will only be allowed liquor consumption after this authorisation.

12) The licencee shall maintain the software as directed by the director of prohibition and excise. The day’s accounts and stock-sheet should be uploaded by 12 midnight.

13) If any permit holder engages in disorderly conduct in the ‘wine and dine facility,’ the FL-III licencee shall be responsible for their immediate removal by security staff, and undertaking of appropriate legal action.

14) The licencee shall issue an official bill of sale of the brand of liquor sold to the permit holder, which would mention its quantity, specified time, price charged, and signature of the authorised person. All taxes levied by the state government and government of India shall be mentioned separately in the bill.

In addition, the details like name, address, phone number, liquor access permit or temporary permit of the FL-III permit holder should be shown in the bill, and the bill should be provided digitally to the permit holders.

15) The FL-III licence holder shall purchase the required quantity of liquor of different brands from the FL-I licence holder of the state, and if any brand is of a specified type, for import from abroad, or from other states, prior approval of the prohibition department chief should be obtained.

16) Excise duty, transport permit fee, import permit fee, special fee, and escort charges for transportation shall be deposited by the licence holder for the outstanding amount of income made per head. Other than that, other fees and taxes as determined by the state shall also be paid.

17) The licencee shall not keep or serve liquor at any place other than the area (map) approved for ‘wine and dine’ by the GIFT facilitation committee.

18) The FL-III licencee shall not allow any permit holder to carry liquor bottles, tins, or any other form of wine outside the premises of the ‘wine and dine’ area under any circumstances. Likewise, no permit holder may carry bottles of liquor into the ‘wine and dine’ area.

19) The premises of the FL-III licencee should be in a permanent structure approved by the competent authority.

20) FL-III licence holders shall comply with all other existing laws, regulations.

Procedures to be followed by the authorised officer

1) Appointment of authorised officer(s) in GIFT City shall be reported in writing by the Managing Director to the director of prohibition and excise department, Gandhinagar.

2) recommending official(s) shall be appointed by the company/organisation/unit for granting their employee(s) permits for the ‘wine and dine’ facility, and this appointment should be notified in writing to the district superintendent of prohibition and excise department, Gandhinagar.

3) If the FL-III licence is misused, the authorised officer shall immediately inform the director of the prohibition department.

4) Liquor access permit will be issued in a specified format by the authorised officer after verifying the proposals sent by the company’s recommending official.

5) The temporary permit issued by the recommending official shall be regularly verified by the authorised officer, and action shall be taken if its rules and regulations are misused by any recommending officer.

GIFT City Club registers 107 new members in 48 hours

On the other hand, Gujaratis have been flocking to get a membership in the GIFT City club, one of the two places in the hub set to potentially gain an FL-III licence once the regulations are made effective.

Inquiries for the club’s membership have skyrocketed, and 107 memberships have been bought in just 48 hours of the liquor relaxation announcement.

Currently, the membership rate of the GIFT City club is at ₹7 lakh, and the last 48 hours saw the club make a business of around ₹7.49 cr in the 107 memberships sold. GIFT City club now houses an approximate number of 2,300 members.

Sources at the club say that the club targets a 4,000-member influx given the inquiries being made following the relaxation.

Reliable sources also suspect that the price of the club’s membership might escalate in the coming days over the club’s access to liquor.

Sources close to the real estate market have also observed activity in the sector in GIFT City after the announcement.

For more such updates and news on the go, follow us on Instagram | YouTube | Facebook