May 21, 2018

Excise department has also decided to keep a strict watch to make sure that the directive is followed.

Following complaints of loud music from residents, the excise department of Delhi govt. has directed restaurants-cum-bars not to play recorded music.

The dept. cited Delhi Excise Rules 2010 that only allows live singing or playing of instruments by professionals at restaurants-cum-bars. The violators will face action, the directive said. The order, however, doesn't apply to hotels & clubs.

There are more than 800 restaurants-cum-bars in the city that have licences to serve liquor & many of them are in residential areas. Residents say that to attract more people & entertain them, these restaurants play loud music till late in the night, leaving the ones living nearby annoyed.

“However, the excise department hasn't received any complaints against hotels & clubs. If there're complaints of loud music being played by them, the department may issue a similar directive to them as well,” an official said.

Delhi Excise Rules 2010, under the conduct of business rule 53 (4), lays down that restaurants-cum-bars licensed to serve liquor and food can only allow live singing or playing of instruments by professionals.

“The rules are silent on whether the professionals should sing with or without mike or what their volume should be, but they clearly say that only live singing & playing of instruments by professionals are allowed and no music can be played,” said an official.

He added, “Recently, we received complaints against many restaurants-cumbars in Delhi & therefore, a general directive has been issued to them”. The official also said that ideally, restaurants-cum-bars shouldn't use mikes, but in case they do for professional singers, they should strictly ensure that the sound doesn't go out of the premises.

The excise department has also decided to keep a strict watch to make sure that the directive is followed. “The department’s enforcement wing will carry out inspections to ensure that the restaurants-cum-bars stick to the rules”, an official said.

The excise department has seen a steady revenue growth over the years. In 2008-2009, the revenue collection was only Rs 1420.91 crore, while it was Rs 4551.57 crore in 2017-18.

“Drives are often carried out to catch violators & bolster revenue collection,” said an official.

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