Excise Minister M Liju said on Monday that the inquiry would examine whether officials acted with undue haste when approving bar licences, including permissions granted to establishments that had operated as beer and wine parlours. He said the government would amend provisions found to undermine its policy.
The controversy has expanded to Cochin International Airport, where two FL-7 licences for domestic terminal lounges were approved for Travel Food Services Limited on June 22. The approvals have raised further questions about how licences were issued while the government was preparing a new liquor policy.
Liju has maintained that no fresh bar licences should be issued before the administration completes its policy review, which will consider social consequences alongside tourism requirements. He said the government would not permit departmental decisions to circumvent that position.
The minister said the government had instructed officials to defer decisions on pending applications. The Kerala High Court was also informed of that position and allowed the administration until November 30 to decide on applications awaiting consideration.
Three hotel approvals in Ernakulam and Kottayam districts prompted disciplinary action last week. The establishments were previously authorised to serve beer and wine but received licences permitting broader liquor service under eligibility provisions introduced during LDF rule.
The establishments involved were Ganga in Muvattupuzha, Megha in Ernakulam and Maria in Pala. Their applications were processed by deputy excise commissioners exercising powers available under the existing regulatory framework.
The Muvattupuzha application was submitted on June 23 and approved the following day. The Kochi establishment applied on June 25 and received approval on June 29. The Pala application, submitted on September 29, was approved on October 3.
Those dates have sharpened scrutiny of the speed of administrative decisions, particularly as the government had publicly indicated that licensing would remain on hold pending the new policy.
Two deputy excise commissioners, P K Satheesh in Ernakulam and P L Shibu in Pathanamthitta, who also held additional charge of Kottayam, were suspended following the minister’s intervention. The minister has referred to disciplinary action involving three officials in connection with the approvals.
Excise Commissioner Seeram Sambasiva Rao examined the hotel licences. His assessment indicated that the officials had followed existing rules, underscoring a distinction between the legal powers available to licensing authorities and the government’s instruction to defer approvals.
Liju said the commissioner had not been informed before certain licences were granted. He also raised complaints about possible involvement by retired excise personnel in licensing matters, saying those allegations would be examined rather than treated as established findings.
The minister has tasked the tax secretary with examining decisions taken at deputy commissioner level. He said officials could not disregard the administration’s policy position merely because older rules continued to confer statutory authority.
The disagreement stems partly from changes introduced in 2017, when the LDF government made hotels with three-star classification and above eligible for bar licences. The earlier UDF administration had restricted such licences to five-star establishments, leaving numerous hotels operating as beer and wine parlours.
Liju said approximately 29 applications were pending when the UDF assumed office. The government subsequently told applicants that decisions would await the formulation of its excise policy.
The licensing controversy follows a separate dispute over permission to sell fruit-based wine through bakeries.
(The article ‘Probe ordered into new bar licences’ appeared first on Free Press Journal.)
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