Hyderabad: Bar owners irked by licence rules

Hyderabad: The state government will not renew bar licences unless the bar owner submits a registration certificate from the building’s owners. And building owners are not keen to give the certificate. There are about 1,100 bars in Telangana and 90 per cent of them are operating in rented premises. According to rules, if the bar is situated in a private building the licensee has to submit a registration certificate from the owner of the building. 

All these years excise officials have not taken this requirement seriously and the licensees have been submitting stamp paper by paying stamp duty instead of submitting a registration certificate. The annual licence fee is Rs 48 lakh, to be paid over three quarters.  

The new excise year started on October 1 and licensees paid the first quarter fee. But their licences are not being renewed until they submit the registration certificate. The government has given 15 days to submit the registration certificate or the licence will not be renewed. 

The owners collect huge rents from the licensees but on record they show a lesser amount to avoid tax. Once they register the building for one year, they have to show the actual amount collected by them. 

The owners see this as a problem. Another problem is that if the owner asks the licensee to vacate the building, the licensee will not vacate, showing the registration certificate.