Chandigarh unlikely to lower legal drinking age

CHANDIGARH: The Chandigarh administration is unlikely to accept the demand of the Chandigarh Hospitality Association to reduce the age for liquor consumption in the UT from 25 years to 21 years in the excise policy for the next financial year.
An official, who is involved in finalising the UT’s excise policy, said they are not planning to reduce legal drinking age in the city. However, a final call in this regard would be taken by the senior officials, including the UT adviser, he added.

The hospitality association had urged the UT excise and taxation department to reduce the age for consuming liquor in Chandigarh from 25 years to 21 years, citing that since the country’s Constitution provides an 18-year-old person the right to vote and drive, the choice to drink responsibly should be left to the individual, who has attained the “major” age. The association had stated that lowering the drinking age would also aid the city’s tourism sector.
According to Section 23 of the Punjab Excise Act, 1915, the age for liquor consumption in Chandigarh is 25 years. Last year, the UT had even conducted raids at hotels and slapped penalties to those, who were found serving liquor to customer below that age.
However, majority of hotels, restaurants and bars in the city are least bothered about the age of youngsters, who come to drink and enjoy.
According to the UT administration, the 2019-20 excise policy will fetch a revenue Rs 600 crore, Rs 90 crore more than Rs 510 crore in 2018-19.
Under the current policy, excise levies on country-made liquor stands increased by approximately 17% and on India-made foreign liquor (IMFL) by approximately 20%. To promote low alcoholic content beverages, like beer and wine, and boost the Indian wine industry, the licence fee was not increased and kept at Rs 12,000 through the year. The label registration fee of wine was reduced from Rs 15,000 to Rs 10,000 per brand.
In the current policy, the excise duty on microbreweries was reduced from Rs 50 per bulk litre to Rs 30 to shift consumers from hard liquor to soft ones. The licence fees of microbreweries, restaurants/ pubs and bar was also not increased.
Advocate Ajay Jagga had also written to the UT excise and taxation department, submitting that along with violation of excise rules, the administration should also look into the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, and violators should be penalised under this act as well.