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Purchasing liquor from Delhi or any other state and then taking it to areas falling in Uttar Pradesh for consumption is not a good idea anymore.
The Uttar Pradesh government’s new directive introduced from 1 April states that the act of importing more than one sealed bottle of liquor from any other state to UP will be considered a non-bailable offence and the accused could face a jail term of up to 5 years along with a fine of Rs 5,000 or ten times the revenue the state government would have generated if the bottles were purchased in UP.
However, the new ruling will not apply to open bottles.
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As per media reports, purchasing liquor from Delhi at cheaper rates is a common practice among residents of Noida and Ghaziabad.
The Yogi Adityanath government amended the Excise Act 1910 in September 2017 with an objective to check the import of liquor from other neighbouring states.
As per media reports, the Ghaziabad district excise office has stated that the act of importing more than one sealed liquor bottle will be considered as an ‘revenue-generating’ scheme and the person will be charged with alcohol smuggling.
Incidentally, the amended law has curtailed the business hours, liquor shops will be allowed to do business between 12 noon and at 10 pm. Earlier, shops were allowed to start their operations at 9 am and down their shutter at 11 pm.
The state excise department said that the decision will not affect the revenue and help in checking the illegal trade of liquor.
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