How to Get a Bar Licence in Delhi, Gurgaon and Bangalore

Alcohol is a state subject in India, which is why the same restaurant concept faces three different licensing routes in Delhi, Gurugram and Bengaluru, the three cities where most of our bar projects open. This guide explains each route, what has to be in place before you apply, what it costs and how long it takes, and the rules that apply once the bar is trading.

Basis: licence categories, fees, age limits and distance rules are set in each state's annual excise policy and change often, sometimes mid-year. The categories and sequences below are those in force on our recent projects; confirm the current policy on the excise department's website or with the excise office before you sign a lease.

What do you need before applying for a bar licence?

• A registered lease or ownership document for premises that meet the state's minimum area and location rules, including distance from schools, places of worship and, where applicable, highways.
• FSSAI licence for the restaurant.
• Fire NOC from the state fire service.
• Municipal health and trade licence, and in Delhi the eating house licence from Delhi Police Licensing.
• GST registration, company documents, promoter identity and address proof, and police verification of the applicant where the state asks for it.
• Approved floor plan showing the bar, the storage room for liquor stock, CCTV coverage and, in Delhi, a point-of-sale system that can report sales to the department.

How does a restaurant get a bar licence in Delhi?

Independent restaurants and bars in Delhi serve liquor under the L-17 licence from the Department of Excise, Entertainment and Luxury Tax, with separate categories for bars inside hotels and clubs. The application is online on the department's portal and is only accepted once the eating house licence, fire NOC, FSSAI and the trade licence are in hand, which is why the eating house licence is usually the real bottleneck in Delhi. The annual licence fee runs into lakhs and is revised in each year's policy, there is a one-time registration and a security deposit, and the licence is renewed every year. The legal drinking age in Delhi is 25, the highest among the three cities, and serving hours are fixed by the policy, with extensions available for an additional fee. Expect three to six months from a complete application to the licence.

How does a restaurant get a bar licence in Gurugram?

Gurugram falls under the Haryana Excise and Taxation Department, which licenses bars in restaurants and hotels under its L-4 and L-5 categories, with annual fees set by the state's excise policy and varying with the size of the premises and the city zone. Haryana also runs the most settled microbrewery policy in the north, which is why most of the NCR's breweries are in Gurugram rather than Delhi. The legal drinking age in Haryana is 21, serving hours are more generous than Delhi's, and the fee structure is published each year with the policy, usually effective from the start of the excise year. Allow two to four months once the fire NOC and trade licence are in place.

How does a restaurant get a bar licence in Bengaluru?

Karnataka licenses bars and restaurants under CL-9, hotels with lodging under CL-7, clubs under CL-4 and microbreweries under CL-11C, all from the Karnataka State Excise Department. The practical difference in Bengaluru is that new CL-9 licences have not been issued for decades, so almost every new bar and restaurant acquires an existing CL-9 licence by transfer from a closing or relocating venue, at a market price that runs from tens of lakhs upwards depending on the area, on top of the annual excise fee. The transfer has to be approved by the excise department and the new premises must meet the distance and area rules. Hotels with rooms can apply for a fresh CL-7, which is why some operators add lodging to the plan. The legal drinking age in Karnataka is 21. Budget three to six months including the search for a licence to buy.

What does a bar licence cost?

Three parts: a one-time registration or transfer cost, an annual licence fee, and a security deposit or bank guarantee. The annual fee in all three cities is in the lakhs and depends on the licence category, the size of the premises and, in Haryana and Karnataka, the zone or city grade. In Bengaluru the transfer premium for a CL-9 licence is usually the largest number in the whole project budget after the fit-out. On top of this, excise duty and state taxes sit inside the price of every bottle you buy, and the licence fee is payable again every year whether the bar is busy or not.

Which rules apply once the bar is open?

• Buy stock only from the state's licensed wholesalers or corporation, keep the excise stock register current and keep purchase invoices on the premises for inspection.
• Serve only within the licensed hours and never on the dry days notified by the state.
• Check age: 25 in Delhi, 21 in Haryana and Karnataka. Train every server to ask for identification.
• Keep CCTV running and retained for the period the policy requires, and in Delhi keep the point-of-sale integration live.
• Display the licence, the no-smoking and age signage, and renew the licence before the excise year ends; a lapse means the bar closes until it is restored.
• Live music, DJs and events usually need separate permissions from the police and the municipality, and performing rights licences for recorded or live music.

The licence is the long pole in every bar project, which is why Table & Fork starts the excise application in the first week of a launch and sequences the fire NOC, trade and eating house licences ahead of it. Our brewery consultant and Delhi, Pune and Bengaluru pages explain how the launch programme runs in each city.