Excise Minister M Liju on Tuesday expressed dissatisfaction with the Excise Commissioner's decision to grant two FL-7 bar licences before the government finalised its new excise policy. He said the government had sought an explanation from the Commissioner over the decision.

Speaking to the media, Liju said FL-7 licences were issued to airport lounges and that the authority to grant them rested with the Excise Commissioner.

However, he said the government had received an application forwarded by the Commissioner seeking approval to grant an FL-7 licence. The government had returned the file, making it clear that such licences could be issued only after the new excise policy was finalised.

"The government had clearly stated that the licence could be granted only after the excise policy was finalised. We had made it clear that it should not be issued before that," Liju said.
He said the Commissioner had nevertheless proceeded to grant the licences.

The minister suggested that the decision might have been based on the provisions of the previous government's excise policy, under which the Commissioner may have had the authority to issue such licences. However, he said the Commissioner should have informed the government before proceeding.

"It is possible that things were handled this way during the previous government's tenure and that the Commissioner granted the licence based on the powers available to him under the earlier policy. However, the government should have been informed," he said.

Liju reiterated that the government had issued clear instructions that no such licences should be granted until the new excise policy was finalised.

The minister's remarks come amid a controversy over the conversion of three beer and wine parlours in Muvattupuzha, Kochi and Pala into full-fledged bar hotels through a series of administrative clearances.

Following the controversy, Ernakulam Deputy Commissioner P K Satheesh and Pathanamthitta Deputy Commissioner P L Shibu, who held additional charge of Kottayam district, were suspended following the minister's instructions.

The developments come at a time when the UDF government, which assumed office in May this year, is preparing a new excise policy. Liju said the policy would be finalised before November 30.

The minister also indicated that the government would reconsider the existing bar licensing framework, including the licences granted to 488 bars across the state.

He accused the previous LDF government and former Excise Minister M B Rajesh of creating administrative confusion by delegating powers to lower-level officials. Liju said the previous government had authorised deputy commissioners to approve the conversion of beer-and-wine parlour licences into bar licences. Such decisions, he argued, should instead be routed through the government and the Excise Commissioner.
"The powers given to lower-level officers will be reconsidered. The minister and the government should know what is happening," he said.

Taking aim at the previous government's liquor policy, Liju said he was dissatisfied with the decision to grant more bar licences without adequately considering their social implications.

He also referred to the recent Nedumbassery accident in which three students were killed after a speeding Mini Cooper, allegedly driven by an intoxicated 19-year-old, crashed into a scooter. The minister used the incident to question the social consequences of expanding the state's bar network.
Liju maintained that the previous LDF government was responsible for the administrative mess surrounding liquor licensing in the state.