New rules: Rs4.5m for a liquor shop licence

Man takes Sindh govt to court for refusing to issue liquor license, demanding an extra Rs4.5 million.

KARACHI: A man has taken the Sindh government to court for refusing to issue him a liquor license he had paid for and for instead demanding an extra Rs4.5 million.

Petitioner’s counsel, Mahesh Lal, told the Sindh High Court (SHC) that his client applied for a liquor licence to operate a liquor shop. The chief minister accepted the request and a challan was issued. The petitioner paid Rs350,000 on July 30, 2010. When the petitioner asked for the licence, however, he was told that the government had amended the Sindh Prohibitory Rules 1979. Under the amended rule  the licence fee had been increased to Rs5 million. The petitioner was asked to pay the remaining amount. The SHC, comprising Chief Justice Sar issued pre-admission notices on Thursday to the excise secretary and director for December 22.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 3^rd, 2010.