A year of relaxation in prohibition law: 700 got permits to drink inside GIFT City

A four-member facilitation committee headed by the Additional Chief Secretary (home), the Managing Director and CEO of GIFT City, Gandhinagar District Collector and Director, Prohibition, arsenic the member-secretary was appointed to contented the vino and dine permits.

“The worker permits are issued pursuing recommendations from the quality assets departments of companies,” said a source.

The drinking permit, called the ‘Liquor Access Permit’ (LAP), is exclusive to GIFT city, and is issued by the GIFT City medication keeping the Prohibition and Excise (P&E) section successful the loop. GIFT City concern territory has astir 670 companies which see offices of Google, Bank of America, Oracle, IBM, Standard Chartered and others, employing astir 25,000 people, said a apical official.

Among the projects coming up successful the astute metropolis are Mumbai’s 300-bed Lilavati Hospital, a edifice by the Hyatt Group, a Central Park, and apical notch existent property companies gathering bureau and residential spaces.

A elder authoritative acquainted with the substance described the relaxation arsenic a “box ticked” for GIFT City. “703 liquor entree permits are progressive astatine the moment,” the elder authoritative told The Indian Express connected the information of anonymity. The permits issued for a interest of Rs 2000 for 2 years are cancelled erstwhile the worker stops moving successful GIFT City offices.

Repeated demands

The relaxation determination came aft months of deliberations pursuing repeated demands by nationalist and planetary investors and visitors to marque it connected par with different planetary economical zones. “It seemed to beryllium benignant of an obstacle to the Ease of Doing Business presumption of the adust state,” the authoritative said.

For the remainder domiciled successful Gujarat and seeking to portion legally, determination are 2 kinds of wellness permits — 1 for those who are betwixt 40-65 years, and those supra 65 years. There is simply a 3rd class of wellness permits for those non-Gujaratis who are supra 65 years of age.

Visitors, tourists and foreigners person the privileges of the little stringent non-health permits which are temporary.

The GIFT metropolis has 2 hospitality properties, the Grand Mercure edifice and the GIFT City club, a premium concern club, which are the lone 2 places successful Gujarat with vino and dine permits, wherever the employees oregon guests of GIFT metropolis are allowed to drink.

The exemption successful the prohibition instrumentality wrong the limits of GIFT City, dispersed implicit 4 quadrate kilometres, came into effect connected December 30, 2023, allowing for the archetypal clip successful the authorities the FL-III licence “to service liquor astatine the approved area”.

The FL-III is simply a proviso successful the Gujarat Prohibition Act 1949, that allows liquor to beryllium served successful vino and dine facilities

This would see establishments specified arsenic clubs, hotels, restaurants and bureau canteens.

Temporary permits valid for a time were besides allowed for the guests of employees to portion lone successful these ‘wine and dine’ areas if accompanied by a Liquor Access Permit holder.

An constitution tin get a FL-III licence for 1 twelvemonth to a maximum of 5 years initially, connected outgo of an yearly interest of 1 lakh rupees and a information deposit of 2 lakh rupees.

While the relaxation successful the anti-drinking instrumentality was meant to marque GIFT City charismatic to businesses, a apical authoritative associated with the caller licence procedures told this paper, “Consuming liquor is an costly matter successful GIFT City, fixed that the outgo of liquor successful Gujarat is higher than different states, and drinking successful the vino and dine installation means paying for the premium service”.

Figures speak

Data shared by the Prohibition & Excise (P&E) Department with The Indian Express showed that the fig of progressive drinking licences till December 31, 2024 was 61,260, of which the wellness permits were 45,187 and the excise gross earned successful the fiscal twelvemonth 2023-24, (till December) stood astatine Rs 142.06 crore.

As of now, 77 hotels and autarkic units are permitted to legally merchantability liquor from shops successful their premises to the licence holders. According to the data, the yearly wellness permits comprise implicit 70% of each progressive permits issued.

Non-health permits issued to non-Gujarat residents and foreigners person remained much oregon little consistent, barring the pandemic years (2020 and 2021). In 2024, 3,661 impermanent permits were issued to those with residential permits, including foreigners, 4,569 seven-day permits were issued to visitors and 7,843 permits valid for 1 period were issued to overseas tourists.

“Non-health permits accrued from August 2022 onwards. There was nary regulatory oregon argumentation alteration from the state, nor was determination immoderate disruption successful issuance of non-health permits, but during Covid-19,” a Prohibition Department authoritative told The Indian Express.

Gujarat has been a adust authorities since it separated from the Bombay Province successful 1960. Residents and visitors request permits — wellness (for reasons ranging from ‘stress’ to bosom ailments) and non-health (temporarily issued to non-Gujarat residents and foreigners to beforehand concern and tourism) — to acquisition overseas liquor from licensed vendors crossed Gujarat.

Ahmedabad-based hotelier Narendra Somani, who is besides the President of the Hotel and Restaurant Association, Gujarat sees the relaxation successful GIFT City arsenic a “gimmick” and argues however the terms of liquor successful Gujarat is simply a deterrent to drinking. “The VAT (Value Added Tax) connected Indian-made overseas liquor (IMFL) successful Gujarat is 65% which is precise precocious compared to different states, and the excise work is besides astir double”.

A vessel that costs Rs 2,500 successful different states, costs Rs 7,500 successful Gujarat arsenic VAT successful different states scope betwixt 5% and 15%, Somani said.

(With inputs from Sohini Ghosh)