Bar licences will not be renewed for hotels denied star classification: Excise Minister

Thiruvananthapuram, Keralam - Excise Minister M Liju announced on Monday that bar licences would not be renewed for hotels that have had their applications for star classification rejected by the Union Tourism Ministry. He made the announcement to reporters when asked about the issuance of bar licences to certain hotels with pending star classification applications.

According to Liju, a star classification is mandatory for renewing bar licences, which are issued by the state government. The Ministry of Tourism in the Union grants this classification. However, due to delays in processing applications for star classification since the Covid-19 pandemic, the state government had to renew bar licences with the approval of the state Tourism Department.

Liju directed officials to gather a list of hotels whose applications for star classification renewal had been rejected by the Union Tourism Ministry. The government is awaiting complete details of such hotels from the Union Tourism Ministry, which was informed by the Tax Secretary. Liju stated that he had reviewed the affidavit filed by the government before the Kerala High Court, which outlined the same position to be presented before the court.

The Excise Minister clarified that the government has no obligation to renew bar licences for hotels whose star classification applications have been denied. Once the government receives information about these hotels, it will decide accordingly. The previous administration had argued against forcing establishments to close solely because the Union Tourism Ministry was unable to process their applications in a timely manner due to high workloads.

The Union Tourism Ministry had also informed the state government about its struggles in completing star classification procedures promptly.

Regarding the transfer of Excise Commissioner Seeram Sambasiva Rao, Liju noted that administrative changes are not uncommon in Kerala. This information was provided by an automated news agency without any textual modifications.