Haryana Government levies COVID Cess on all types of liquor in State. Same Shall comes into effect from May 6.

Liquor vends shall open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., both in urban and rural areas.

The decision was taken in the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Sh Manohar Lal Khatar. The amendments have been carried out with an objective to safeguard the government revenue and to mitigate the impact of the outbreak of Pandemic on the operation of the licenses.

The COVID Cess will be Rs. 5 per quart in case of Country Liquor, Rs. 20 per quart in case of Indian-made foreign liquor (IMFL), Rs. 5 in case of strong Beer and Rs 2 in the case of other Beer and Rs. 50 per pack greater than 375 ML in case of Imported Foreign Liquor (IFL).

All the licensees shall operate their licenses at the same license fee at which these were allotted before the outbreak of COVID-19 Pandemic.

However, A Group of Ministers (GoM) has been constituted for redressal of grievances of the stakeholders which may come up during the operation of the licenses. A COVID Cess shall be levied on all types of liquor.

The retail licensees shall operate strictly in accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. No liquor vend shall be allowed to operate in the containment zones. The proportionate waiver of the license fee and quota shall be given for such closures.  The retail licensees would have to ensure social distancing as defined by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.

No person shall be allowed to enter the business premises 10 minutes prior to the closing time of such retail outlets.  There will not be more than 5 persons at any time on the counter of any retail outlets.

The salesmen, as well as the customers, shall have to wear face masks. The licensee shall have to ensure proper cleanliness and sanitization. He will have to provide for an adequate quantity of sanitizer at the sales counter.