50% of liquor licenses in Goa sub-leased to non-locals: CM

Almost half of the Goans who were allotted licences to run liquor bars have sub-leased them to non-Goans and even foreigners, the Legislative Assembly was told on Tuesday. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant told the House the state government had decided to double the fees for holding licences for those who have sub-let their business to others.

"The government has been giving liquor licences to promote self employment. But unfortunately, we have seen that almost half of them have sub-leased their licences to non- Goans including foreigners," Sawant said while responding to the Demands of Grants for Excise department. He said Excise department is one of the main sources for generating revenue for the state exchequer.

"During the last fiscal, a revenue of Rs 477 crore was collected from the department," he said. Sawant said his government was working on to check smuggling of liquor across state borders.

Goa shares common border with Karnataka and Maharashtra. "The government is contemplating to allow two bottles of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and one bottle of Goan liquor by giving a proper licence to tourists when they leave the state," he said.

The government is also exploring whether holograms mentioning various details, including tax paid, can be put on liquor bottles. "Once we install holograms on bottles, the revenue will go up by almost twenty per cent," he said.

Sawant also said measures would be taken to refrain people from drinking in public places and littering..