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Prohibition of alcohol in Maharashtra

The Bombay Prohibition Act, 1949 is still in force in Gujarat state, however, there is a licensing regime in Maharashtra which grants licenses to vendors and traders.

Maharashtra brings liquor possession limit in prohibition law to combat the illicit sale
In the state of Maharashtra, three districts namely Wardha, Gadchiroli and Chandrapur are under alcohol prohibition.

In order to crack illicit sale of liquor in areas of prohibition, the state government has laid certain legal “prescribed limits” for the possession of alcohol by consumers.

In the three districts of Maharashtra namely Wardha, Gadchiroli and Chandrapur which are under alcohol prohibition the state Government of Maharashtra has implemented the Prohibition (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019, that was approved lays down the definition of “absolutely prohibited areas” that cover dry districts. In these districts, any type of sale, purchase, possession, use, and consumption of liquor has been banned.

This ordinance has enhanced the quantum of punishment for offenses committed in “absolutely prohibited areas.” An order by the home department lays down the prescribed limit of units of liquor that can be possessed by consumers at a time. Accordingly, consumers can possess not more than 12 units of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) or imported spirits, wine, toddy, beer, and liquids containing alcohol at a time. This alcohol limit is just two units for country liquor (CL), which is consumed by the working class. One unit equals to 1,000 ml for country liquor, IMFL, imported liquor, toddy, and liquids containing alcohol and 2,600 ml for wine and beer.

Previously in the law, there was no prescribed limit clause, which has now been inserted. This has helped in cracking on bootlegging in dry areas. Alcohol possession limits for consumers have been left unchanged,” said a senior state excise department official and added that an offense in dry areas would be considered a grave offense and would be severely punished than other regions to prevent bootlegging.

The state of Maharashtra has stringent excise laws where consumption, possession or transport of liquor without a permit issued on “health grounds” is an offense which is punishable with a fine or a jail term depending on its severity. Under the Maharashtra Prohibition Act, 1949, a permit for possession, purchase, transport of liquor is mandatory. As per the Bombay Foreign Liquor Rules, 1953, framed under the Act prescribes that the conditions about who can hold the permit for possession of liquor and the extent of the quantity of liquor that can be held by these permit holders.

Maharashtra saw prohibition of alcohol being imposed from 1949 till the 1960s, which led to the underworld being involved in bootlegging in parts of Mumbai and the state. During this period, wine shops released fixed units of the brew to permit holders on health grounds. However, restrictions on consumption of liquor were gradually eased over the years, though the permit system and a prohibition policy.

What is an alcohol permit?

An alcohol permit gives you the right to obtain possession, hold and consume liquor at a private location. Additionally, it also gives you the license to sell or serve alcohol to people having a permit at parties.

Who is Eligible for an Alcohol Permit?

To get an alcohol permit in Maharashtra, you must be at least 25 years old (21 for a limited permit that only allows the consumption of beer and wine).

How to Apply for an Alcohol Permit?

For getting an Individual Permit you need to gather documents to prove your identity and residence. In order to get a one-year or lifetime individual permit for purchasing, possessing, transporting, using, and consumption of alcoholic beverages in Maharashtra, you need to provide a passport-size photograph of yourself. You will also need at least one document to prove your identity and at least one document to prove your address. The same document may serve as proof of both your identity and your address. Acceptable documents include:

Aadhar Card

Passport
Voter ID
PAN Card
Driving license

Then Purchase a court stamp fee for your application. If planning to apply for your permit at the excise office in person you will need an RS. 10 court stamp as of 2019. Then visit the Excise office to apply in person. You can also apply for the permit online. For online transactions, you need a major credit or debit card to pay your fees online. The fees to apply online are the same as if you applied in person. As of 2019, the fees are Rs. 200 for a one-year permit and Rs. 2000 for a lifetime permit.

What are the consequences of drinking without a Permit?

The punishment for not possessing a permit and drinking alcohol could range from a fine of Rs 50,000 to five years in jail or both. Deputy commissioner of police Pratap Dighavkar said though the rules had always been in place, this drive to enforce it is part of the ongoing drive against drinking and drunk driving.

Why should you seek a permit before Drinking?

Drinking without a permit will be as serious an offense as driving without a license. The permit granted by the police under the provisions of the Bombay Prohibition Act, 1949, has become a must according to the Mumbai police, who are now looking to enforce the laws that have been forgotten over a period of time. Although the provision for granting a permit has been in place ever since the existence of the Act, it is now been taken very seriously when it comes to individual drinkers.

Laws Related

The section 11 of Maharashtra Prohibition Act, 1949 talks about the manufacture, etc., of intoxicant to be permitted in accordance with provisions of Act, rules, etc. and chapter 3 of the act prohibits allowing acts –

Prohibition of manufacture of liquor and construction and working of distillery or brewery.
Prohibition of sale, etc., of liquor.
Prohibition of export, import, transport, sale, Manufacture, etc., of intoxicating drugs.
Prohibition of import, export, transport, sale, etc., of sweet toddy.
Prohibition of tapping of toddy producing trees and drawing of toddy.
Prohibition, of possession, etc., of opium.
Prohibition of sale to minors.
Prohibition, or production etc., of charas.
Alteration of denatured spirit.
Alteration of denatured spirituous preparation.
Prohibition of allowing any premises to be used as common drinking house.
Prohibition of issuing prescriptions for intoxicating liquor except by registered medical practitioners.
Prohibition of solicting use of intoxicant or hemp or doing any act calculated to incite or encourage member of public to commit offence.] Prohibition of publication of advertisements relating to intoxicant, etc.

How to file your Income-tax returns?

In order to file an Income tax return, you need to first register yourself on the e-filing website of the income tax department and:

Collect required documents such as TDS certificates (Form16/16A) and capital gains statements.
You need to download and check Form 26AS.
Then rectify the errors in Form 26AS, if any.
And then compute total income for the financial year.

You need to login into the e-filing website with your User ID, Password, Date of Birth / Date of Incorporation and enter Captcha. Then go to e-File and click on “Prepare and Submit ITR Online”. Then select the Income Tax Return Form ITR 1/ITR 4S and your Assessment Year. Then fill in the details and click the “Submit” button.

What is the process of filing a Tax Return?

You first need to download the Income Tax Return preparation software for the relevant assessment year in your PC / Laptop from the “Downloads” page.

Prepare your Return using the Downloaded software for which you need to gather all the information regarding your income, tax payments, deductions, etc.

Then you need to Pre-populate the personal details and tax payments /TDS by clicking on the ‘Pre-fill’ button. You need to compare the information that you have to ensure nothing is left out.

Then Enter all data and click on ‘Calculate’ for computing the tax and interest liability to have the final figure of Refund or Tax payable

If Tax is payable remember to pay immediately and enter the details in an appropriate schedule. Repeat the above steps so that tax payable becomes zero.

You then need to generate and save the Income Tax Return data in XML format in the desired path/place on your PC/Laptop.

Then login into the e-Filing website with your User ID, password, Date of Birth /Date of Incorporation and enter the Captcha code.

The Supreme Court of India in its recent judgment Sasi Enterprises V Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax (criminal appeal No.61/2007) has categorically declared it is taxpayer’s liability to file a tax return and non-filing of the tax return is an action liable for prosecution. If the taxpayer does not pay the income tax return voluntarily as under Section 139 of the income tax act and does not pay even after issuing of notice as u/s 142 an148 of the Income tax act then the taxpayer can be prosecuted u/s 276CC of the Income Tax Act. This judgment by the Supreme Court is the firm reminder that the laws should not be seen as an empty formality and should be attended diligently. The Supreme Court has also held that in case prosecution proceedings are initiated, taxpayers have to prove the circumstances which prevented them from filing the I-T returns and also failing to prove they are liable for prosecution and penalty. The burden as to prove that individual has not willfully exempted from filing the I-T return is on the Taxpayers altogether.

Legal consequences of not filing the Income Tax returns

The individual if does not pay the Income tax than the individual may be subject to some penalties and Interest. The Income Tax office on the failure to pay taxes issues a notice u/s 142 (1) as and when it deems fit to the office. Further, if the individual fails to furnish his income tax returns after the notice he will be penalized for the same. If there are any taxes which are unpaid, penal interest as per u/s 234A i.e. @ 1% per month or part thereof will be charged till the date of payment of taxes. Also Penalty of Rs. 5,000 may be charged. The penalty is not levied in all cases and depends upon the circumstances of the case.

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