KOCHI: With the Excise Department tightening its grip on serving liquor at private parties without permits, Kochiites are queuing up in front of the Excise office to obtain the licence to serve liquor. With the permit costing Rs 25,000 for a day, the revenue of the department is all set to go up manifold. The Excise Department had launched raids last week on the basis of a directive issued by the District Collector. According to Excise Deputy Commissioner K Mohanan, the number of people applying for the one-day permit has gone up.“The district administration’s order to initiate legal action against those who serve liquor at private parties has come as a rude jolt to those who conduct private parties, including weddings. Many who want to avoid legal action are applying for the permit now. We are receiving on an average 15 application a day. A fair amount of money could be collected from this”, he said. Clearing the air about the liquor permit, Mohanan said that until now only selling alcohol without permit or carrying more than the prescribed quantity was illegal. But now, even serving liquor in houses without permit is illegal. “One has to get the permit for even drinking with friends in the house. Practically this law is very hard to implement. It amounts to infringing on people’s privacy. Besides, we don’t have enough personnel to conduct raids on every home. But when such social occasion comes, we can ensure that they have obtained the permit for serving the drink”, he opined. The sale and possession of liquor without permit (or, illicit-liquor) is a non-bailable offence. The maximum punishment that can be meted out for flouting this rule is imprisonment for ten years and a fine not less than Rs 100,000. Also, gifting of liquor is treated as unauthorised sale, the authorities.
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