Jharkhand Excise (Retail Liquor) Rules 2025 – Comprehensive Study Notes

Chapter 1 – Short-Title, Extent, Commencement & Definitions

Short-title & commencement
The rules are called “Jharkhand Excise (Settlement & Operation of Shops for Retail Sale of Liquor) Rules, 2025” and apply to the whole state from the date of departmental notification (21 May 2025).

Key definitions (selection)
• “Act” = Jharkhand Excise Act 2000 (former Act II of 1915).
• “Licence fee” = amount fixed for each category of retail shop.
• “Board” = Board of Directors, Jharkhand State Beverages Corporation Ltd (JSBCL).
• “Commissioner” = Commissioner of Excise.
• “Composite liquor shop” = single licence permitting sale of country, flavoured country, IMFL, beer, wine, etc.
• “Off shop” = on-premise consumption not allowed.
• “On shop” = on-premise consumption allowed, with lavatory & potable water.
• “Excise year” = $1\,April\;–\;31\,March$ (unless altered).
• “Year” = $1\,Jan\;–\;31\,Dec$.
• “Minimum Guaranteed Duty (MGD)” – shop-wise or district-wise floor payment calculated from Annual Minimum Guaranteed Revenue (AMGR).
• AMGR = Excise Duty + Excise Transport Duty due from each shop.
• “Security Deposit” = $5\%$ of total annual excise revenue.
• “Earnest Money Deposit (EMD)” = $\frac{1}{50}$ of AMGR (forfeitable on default).
• “Additional Excise Duty (AED)” = rounding-up increment on the retail price (see table below).
• “Model Shop” = air-conditioned, ≥ $600\,sq ft$ on-premise composite shop in municipal areas with kitchen & lavatory; AMGR is hiked by $5\%$.
• “Mall composite off shop” = ≥ $50\,000\,sq ft$ mall, shop area ≥ $200\,sq ft$, no AMGR, licence fee $\text{Rs }3.60\,lakh /\text{year}$, security $\text{Rs }10\,lakh$.

Rounding rule for AED
Retail Sale Price (RSP) to be rounded UP to the next multiple of:
– ₹1–₹90 → next ₹5
– ₹91–₹950 → next ₹10
– ₹951–₹1950 → next ₹50
– ₹1951 + → next ₹100
Difference between rounded and un-rounded RSP (incl. VAT) = AED, collected at JSBCL warehouse.

Chapter 2 – Categories of Retail Shops

1. Country liquor ON/OFF shops (country + flavoured).

2. Composite OFF/ON shops (country + IMFL + imported + beer, wine, etc.).

3. Model Shops (up-gradation of composite off shop; 5 % extra AMGR).

4. Mall composite OFF shops (conditions supra; cannot sell liquor with RSP < ₹2000 except imported/beer/wine).

Chapter 3 – Settlement (Bandoabasti) Process

1. Fixation of number & location – Deputy Commissioner (DC) with Excise officers; 100 % settlement mandatory.

2. District-wise revenue target fixed by Excise Commissioner; shop-wise AMGR/MGD fixed by DC.

3. Publication of sale notice – Form 127, minimum 15 days before lottery; to appear on noticeboard & leading dailies.

4. Lottery – up to three winners (1st, 2nd, 3rd).
   • 1st winner must deposit dues (Schedule 1) within time; else offer passes to 2nd/3rd.
   • Failure → EMD forfeiture + 5-year blacklist.

5. Group formation – 1–4 shops per cluster; DC must permute “Premium, Good, Average, Ordinary” shops so every group looks profitable.
   • One applicant ≤ 3 clusters / district (max 12 shops).
   • State-wide cap: 9 clusters (9–36 shops).

6. Licence period – until 31 March 2030, but issued year-wise; renewal needs ≥ 95 % district AMGR realisation & 10 % yearly hike in AMGR after 2025-26.

7. Site approval – winner proposes site within 7 days; DC must decide in 7 days.

8. Transfer/shift of site – allowed by DC but within same notified area and compliant with SC judgement in K.Balu (15-Dec-2016) on highway distance.

Applications & Mandatory Documents

• Identity proof + residence proof + correspondence proof.
• Individuals: Aadhaar, PAN, voter-ID, bank statement.
• Partnership: registered deed, CA-certified positive net-worth, partners’ KYC, 3-year ITRs.
• Companies: Certificate of Incorporation, MOA/AOA, audited financials 3 yrs, DIR 12/29/32, board resolution, CA net-worth, GST/Prof Tax returns.
• Universal: non-refundable application fee, EMD, authorised representative bio-data, notarised affidavit (13-point declaration incl. age ≥ 21, no criminal history, no govt. dues, not bankrupt, etc.).

Fees & Deposits (Schedule 1)

Application Fees (per application)

Annual Licence Fee (pay before grant)

Monetary Obligations

• EMD = $\dfrac{1}{50} \times \text{AMGR}$
• Security Deposit = $5\%\times\text{Annual Excise Revenue}$ (NSC or Bank Guarantee)
• Advance Excise Transport Duty (ETD) at settlement = $7.5\%$ of annual revenue.
• Monthly ETD payment schedule: 9 % (Apr, May, Jun, Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar), 6 % (Jul, Aug), 7 % (Sep); due 25th of each month, daily late fee $1\%$.

Minimum Guaranteed Duty & Lifting

Monthly break-up of AMGR mirrors ETD percentages above.
Indent + payment must reach JSBCL by 25th; leftover quantity must be lifted by 10th of next month or pay equivalent duty + 1 % daily interest; March shortfall cannot be carried over.

If retailer wants to lift beyond MGD, proportionate ETD must be pre-deposited; JSBCL auto-deducts from wallet on 30th.

Tax Structure (Rule 25)

IMFL (25° UP unless stated) – Duty slabs

Beer (including imported) – per bulk litre

Country / Flavoured Country Liquor

Excise Revenue = ₹135 / proof l.

Imported Foreign Liquor (bottled-in-origin)

Excise Revenue is split: $10\%$ Excise Duty, $90\%$ ETD. Duty payable by supplier; ETD by retailer.

Pricing Formula (Schedule 2)

Let
• $a$ = EDP/EWP/EBP per case
• $b$ = total Excise Revenue per case
Then:

1. $\text{ED}=0.1b,\; ETD=0.9b$

2. $\text{VAT}_1 = 5\%\times(a+0.1b)$ (IMFL; for CL use 1 %)

3. Landing price $c = a+0.1b+\text{VAT}_1$

4. Wholesaler margin $0.045c$ (IMFL) or $0.03c$ (CL).

5. Cost-to-Retailer $d = c+0.045c+0.9b$.

6. Retailer margin $e = 0.12d$.

7. Second VAT on $0.9b+0.045c+e$ equals $f$ (5 %).

8. Case MSP $= d+e+f$; Bottle MSP $= \dfrac{d+e+f}{\text{bottles/case}}$ then rounded upward as per AED rule.

9. AED per case $= \text{(Rounded MSP − unrounded MSP)}\times \text{bottles/case}$ (includes 5 % VAT).

Shop Operation Norms

• Working hours: 10:00 a.m.–11:00 p.m.; EC may vary.
• Dry days: 26 Jan, 15 Aug, 2 Oct, Dussehra, Ramnavami, Holi, Muharram; DC may impose more for law & order/election (no compensation).
• Max retail sale per customer: IMFL/IFL $\le 4.5\,L$, country $\le 4.8\,L$ (beer, wine, Breezer unlimited).
• Persons < 21 yrs, visibly intoxicated, or uniformed on-duty personnel must not be served. • Display board 3 × 8 ft with shop & warning slogans; price list of “popular brands” compulsory. • Popular Brand = >10 % state market share in its segment; list issued periodically; mandatory stocking.
• On-shops must destroy empty bottles/caps per Solid Waste Rules 2016.
• Cash-less payment to be promoted.

Monitoring, Technology & Enforcement

• Mandatory installation (at owner’s cost) of Track & Trace, IP-CCTV, Electronic billing, Deep Freezer, Boom-Barrier, GPS vehicle tracker, Digital locks; linked 24×7 to a Central Command & Control Centre (JSBCL).
• Wholesaler margin (4.5 % / 3 %) funds infra costs.
• Excise & Police officers must assist in enforcement; unaccounted stock, adulteration, over-pricing, etc. attract penalties.

Compoundable irregularities & penalties (Rule 47)
Examples: unauthorised seller ₹5000→₹15000→cancellation, no stock register ₹10000→₹30000→cancellation, over-pricing ₹50000→₹100000→cancellation, no popular brands ₹100000→₹200000→cancellation, etc.

Suspension, Cancellation & Blacklisting (Rule 46)

Grounds include untaxed stock, prohibited items, false affidavit, non-payment of dues, conviction under Excise/NDPS/IPC 2023.
Process: Show-cause 7 days → hearing → order in 15 days.
On cancellation, Security + advance ETD forfeited; licensee black-listed 5 years.

Miscellaneous Provisions

• Site transfer within notified area allowed; not outside sale-notice area.
• Un-settled shops: DC may distribute up to 10 % of district AMGR proportionately among settled shops; residual shops may be offered relaxing Rule 15 or run by JSBCL.
• On licensee’s death, licence may transfer to legal heir if eligible & dues cleared.
• Sub-leasing forbidden—leads to cancellation & prosecution.
• Existing JSBCL retail assets (freezers, scanners, cash-chests) to be auctioned by DC; base price fixed by committee & approved by JSBCL MD.
• All earlier retail rules stand repealed from the commencement date.
• Doubts in interpretation—Excise Commissioner’s decision final; may issue additional orders/forms.

Annex – Key Numerical References & Formulae

1. Age requirement: $\ge 21\text{ years}$.

2. Shop cluster limits: 1–4 shops/cluster; applicant ≤ 3 clusters/district; ≤ 9 clusters statewide.

3. Licence period waypoint: renewals need $\ge 95\%$ district AMGR realisation.

4. Security = $0.05\times\text{Annual Revenue}$.

5. EMD = $0.02\times\text{Annual Revenue}$.

6. Advance ETD = $0.075\times\text{Annual Revenue}$.

7. Late fee on ETD/MGD short-payment = $1\%$ per day.

8. VAT rates: IMFL $5\%$, Country $1\%$ (first layer), + second 5 % on margins.

These notes consolidate every operative provision, definition, fee, tax, formula, schedule, enforcement power and example contained in the 34-page notification dated 21 May 2025, enabling full understanding without recourse to the original Hindi text.