Govt suspends bar licence for Chennai's top 5-star hotels

The Tasmac official said all the "blacklisted" hotels were asked to submit a detailed report on this issue.

Update: 2024-08-04 01:30 GMT

CHENNAI: The capital city's week-end party mood turned sobre for bar owners and revellers with the state government suspending a few FL-3 bar licences issued for five-star hotels. The first phase of action has taken the fizz out of the hotel industry and the party revellers with many expressing shock over the suspension of the licence of their favourite water holes that serve high-end premium brandy and single malt whiskeys.

A press communique from the Secretariat said, “The FL-3 bar licences of Ratta Somersett, Taj Club House, VVA Hotels (Radisson Blu), Hyatt Regency and The Park were cancelled until further orders. The bars in these hotels were functioning in violation of bar rules and were found supplying liquor illegally to strangers. For such reasons, the bar licences are cancelled.”

However, a senior Tasmac official, seeking anonymity, told DT Next that most of the liquor brands, imported from other states, were not reported as per the rules. "Certain consumers, who regularly lodge at the star hotel, prefer branded liquor, which was not available. Therefore, the customers were allowed to take their own 'purchased' liquor and use it at the bars of these hotels. This was supplied by the bartender," he said.

The official further said that "there were massive complaints about this issue, which was discussed deeply before the decision to cancel licences for these hotels."

The Tasmac official said all the "blacklisted" hotels were asked to submit a detailed report on this issue.

“The move comes in the wake of specific intelligence that the bar stock ledger and the liquor consumed in the bar varied. There were cases of high-end whiskey, imported Vodka and brandies used in the bar but the same was not reported in the sales book, thereby resulting in loss to the Tasmac, prohibition and excise department,” said an official source. “This is a major setback for a few top star hotels in Chennai as the licences of FL-3 category liquor bars were cancelled due to supply of liquor illegally to private persons during odd and on working hours,” said the source adding that the move has rattled the hotel industry with enquiries pouring out after the news of licence cancellations was out.

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