Kerala renews bar licences for unclassified hotels, defying liquor policy

Thiruvananthapuram: Deviating from its liquor policy, the Kerala government has allowed the renewal of bar licences for hotels without the required classification for the 2026–27 financial year.

The order in this regard was issued on February 13, about a month before the announcement of the assembly elections. The directive, issued by the Additional Chief Secretary of the Taxes Department to the Excise Commissioner, was kept strictly confidential and neither published on the government portal nor circulated publicly. The file was processed swiftly, and the order was issued amid the zonal campaign rallies organised by the Left Democratic Front (LDF).

The decision permits the renewal of all bar and beer-wine parlour licences for the coming financial year, provided the establishments have applied for reclassification on the Union Tourism Ministry’s portal.

While the order attributes the decision to delays in classification renewal by the Union Tourism Ministry’s Classification Committee, sources in the Ministry told Manorama that no such delays exist. At the same time, it is also learnt that reclassification applications of several hotels in Kerala have been rejected in recent months.

Under existing norms, a minimum three-star classification is a prerequisite for a bar licence. However, the present move permits renewals solely on the grounds that an application for such classification has been filed. Since the licence will be valid for one year, bars can continue to operate even if they fail the reclassification inspection.

Hotel classification is granted for a five-year period, and applications for reclassification must be submitted on the ‘Nidhi’ portal within three to six months before expiry. The committee then conducts on-site inspections and renews the classification if found satisfactory. With inspections delayed during the COVID-19 period, the State, acting on directions from the Tourism Ministry, renewed bar licences for all applicants. That temporary relaxation now appears to be continuing despite objections from the Centre.

Rules overlooked in 2025 too
In February 2025, the Union Tourism Ministry wrote to the Excise Commissioner, pointing out that several bar hotels were not cooperating with the reclassification inspection process. The communication, which included a list of 23 four-star hotels, noted that hotel owners were seeking extensions whenever inspection dates were fixed.

The Ministry had also specifically directed that the bar licences of these 23 hotels should not be renewed. However, the LDF government renewed licences for these establishments, along with nearly 200 other hotels that had not secured reclassification, during the previous financial year.