Telangana: Age law haunts liquor shops

Hyderabad: Following a series of raids and sting operations by Excise and Prohibition officials along with the police against selling liquor to those below 21 of age, following the Ramya mishap, owners of liquor shops say they are finding it difficult to verify age-proof documents during peak hours.

The Telangana State Wine Shop Owners Association wants to tell the government that raids and decoy operations followed by issuing notices and suspension of licences was leading to a drop in sales and revenue to the government.

Association president D. Venkateswarlu said that the Excise and Prohibition Act and Rules prohibited serving liquor to minors but does not mention consumption.

“All departments are blaming liquor shop owners. Suppose the boy who was involved in Ramya’s accident was not a minor, could he controlled the car. The incident was occurred due to drunk driving. But now it is minor major issue,” he said.

He said the Act did not mention how to determine the age of a buyer, nor did it empower the shop staff to do so. “Some owners have faced problems when they asked customers about their age,” he said. He said that the Excise department was imposing a penalty of up to Rs 1 lakh followed by suspending licenses of wine shops and bars, making it difficult for owners.

Excise inspector S. Srinivas said the department was following the law. “We are recording the statements of minors who got liquor from several bars,” he said.
Commissioner for Excise R.V. Chandravadan told DC that the department was planning to recommend amendments to the Act. “We have found that some sections do not prescribe severe punishment. We are going to insist on that,” he said.

Hyderabad Excise Superintendent B.Jyothi Kiran said that it was the responsibility of management of wines and bars on the restriction of serving liquor to below 21 year old persons. ?The act says it was the responsibility of the management.

However, the act did not mention about demanding age proof, the management can have to estimate younger or older persons. It is not mandatory to ask everyone to provide age proof. The management should not serve liquor to those, who appears too young and they themselves will provide proofs,? he said.