SECTION 3 : CONSOLIDATED RULES MADE UNDER SECTION 86.

1No. 601 S.R. - 30th March, 1915 - In exercise of the power conferred by the section 86 of the Bengal Excise Act, 1909 (Bengal Act V of 1909), as amended by the Bengal Excise (Amendment) Act, 1914 (Bengal Act VII of 1914), and in supersession of all previous notifications issued by the Board of Revenue, Bengal under the said section 86 of Bengal Act V of 1909 and by the late Board of Revenue, Eastern Bengal and Assam under section 36 of the Eastern Bengal and Assam Excise Act, 1910 (Eastern Bengal and Assam Act I of 1910), the Governor in Council is pleased to make the following rules for the Province of Bengal :-

II. These rules shall come into force with effect from the 1st April, 1915.RULES

Definitions

1. In these rules, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context -(1) 'the Act' means the Bengal Excise Act, 1909, as

amended by the Bengal Excise (Amendment) Act, 1914;(2) 'blending' means the mixture of spirits or wines of

different strengths or of different qualities;(3) 'bottling' means bottling as defined in clause (3) of

section 2 of the Act;(4) 'brewer of sale' means a person who brews beer for the use of any other person, at any place other than the premises of the persons for whose use the beer has been brewed, and includes any licensed dealer in or retailer of beer, who brews beer;(5) 'Commissioner' means the Excise Commissioner;(6) 'compounding' means the artificial preparation of

foreign liquor by the addition, to imported or locally made liquor, or flavouring or colouring matter or both;(7) 'contractor' means a person to whom the exclusive

privilege -(a) of supplying by wholesale, or(b) of manufacturing and supplying by wholesale, country spirit to licensed retail vendors of the same has

been granted by the State Government under section 22;(8) a 'degree of gravity' shall be taken as equal to the one-thousandth part of the gravity of distilled water at sixty degrees of Fahrenheit's thermo-meter;(9) 'distiller' means a person who holds a license to work a distillery in West Bengal;(10) 'to gauge' means to determine the quantity of spirit

contained in, or taken from, any cask or other receptacle, or to determine the capacity of a cask or other receptacle;(11) 'London proof (L.P.)' or 'proof' means the strength or proof

1 Published on pages 1 to 32 of the Calcutta Gazette, Extraordinary of the 1st April, 1915. Measures and weights in the Notification were converted to metric units by Notification No. 357-Ex., dated 22nd March, 1962.

of power as ascertained by means of Sykes' hydrometer and denotes that spirit which at the temperature of 510 Fahrenheit weighs exactly 12/13th part of an equal measure of distilled water;(12) 'obscuration' means the difference, caused by matter in solution, between the true strength of spirit and that indicated by the hydrometer;(13) 'ordinary denatured spirit' means spirit denatured with the general denaturant prescribed for use in West Bengal;(14) 'plain spirit' means spirit to which no flavour has been communicated and to which no flavouring or colouring matter or other material or ingredient has been added;(15) 'prescribed' or 'approved' means prescribed or approved by the State Government or the Commissioner;(16) to 'prove' means to test the strength of spirit by a hydrometer or other instrument prescribed by the Commissioner;(17) 'Rectified spirit' means plain spirit of a strength of not less than forty degrees above proof;(18) 'reducing' means the reduction of liquor from a higher to a lower alcoholic strength by the addition of water;(19) 'still' includes any part of a still and any apparatus whatever for distilling or manufacturing spirit;(20) 'sugar' means any saccharine substance, extract or syrup, and includes any material capable of being used in brewing except malt or gratin of any kind;(21) 'wash' means materials for distillation which is under, or has undergone, fermentation by natural or artificial means, and;2(22) 'wanchu' means a fermented liquor specially prepared from rice by the Chinese in Calcutta and 24-Parganas districts as their national drink on special occasions.

Licensing and regulation of distilleries2. Any person desiring to obtain a license to work as distillery in any place in West Bengal shall apply in writing to the Commissioner giving the following particulars -

(1) the name or names, and the address of addresses, of the person or persons applying3;

Note - For particulars to be furnished when the applicant is a firm, company or corporation, see Notification No. 21487-Ex., dated 15th

October, 1938 at page …………(2) the purpose for which the distillery is proposed to be

opened, specifying in detail the nature of the business which the applicant desires to carry on therein;

(3) the name of the place in which, the site on which and the building in which the distillery is to be constructed

Application for license

2 Inserted by Notification No. 444-Ex., dated the 27th January 1923, published on page 136, Part I of the Calcutta Gazette of the 31st idem, as amended by Notification No. 1189-Ex., dated the 16th November, 1936 published on page 2634, Part I, of the Calcutta Gazette, of the 19th idem.3 The words 'if a firm, etc.' deleted, vide Notification No. 21485-Ex., dated the 15th October, 1938, published on page 2256 of Part I of the Calcutta Gazette, dated the 20th October, 1938.

or worked;(4) the number and full description of the stills, vats and

other permanent apparatus which the applicant wishes to work or set up, and the size and capacity of such stills, etc;

(5) the date from which, in the event of a license being granted to him, the applicant proposes to commence working of the distillery;

(6) the amount of security which the applicant is ready to furnish for the due performance of the conditions on which a license may be granted to him, and;

(7) a correct plan of the buildings which he intends to use or to construct for his distillery, and a plan showing the position of stills, vats and other permanent apparatus therein, and a list of store-rooms, warehouses, etc. connected therewith.

3. (1) On receipt of the application, and after consulting the Collector of the district in which the distillery is proposed to be opened regarding the suitability of the site, and buildings, if there be any already, and on any other points, and on receipt of the Collector's opinion and after such further inquiry as he deems necessary, the Commissioner shall decide whether the license for the opening of the distillery should be granted or not. The number of distilleries which can be allowed to be opened in the State mainly for the supply of country spirit, is limited, and in deciding whether a license for the working of a distillery is to be granted or not, the Commissioner will take into full consideration the purpose for which it is proposed to open the distillery and the demand or necessity for such a distillery.

(2) Distilleries may be opened for -(a) supply of country spirit;(b) supply of foreign liquor;(c) supply of spirits for the manufacture of chemicals,

medicated articles, etc., or for other industrial purposes;

(d) for all or any of the above purposes combined.(3) If the Commissioner sanctions the opening of a distillery,

he shall so inform the applicant and the Collector of the district in which the distillery is to be opened.

(4) The applicant shall then be called upon to make arrangements for the construction of the distillery. Upon completion of the building and after the stills and other appliances and apparatus have been set up, he must deposit two fresh copies of the plans with the Collector, who shall cause them to be verified in any manner he thinks proper, and then submit one copy to the Commissioner for examination, and for comparison with the plans first submitted, and for any further verification he may think necessary. After final approval by the Commissioner, the Collector

Consideration of application.

Purposes for which a distillery may be opened.

Construction of distillery.

Plans.

will be instructed to grant a license to the applicant in the prescribed form. The applicant shall be bound to conform to the wishes of the Commissioner within a reasonable time to be fixed by that officer regarding any addition or alteration to the buildings, stills, vats or other permanent apparatus or plant which he considers necessary, whether before or after the final plans are submitted, for the proper security of the revenue or to render illicit practices impracticable.

(5) No addition or alteration to the buildings, stills or other permanent apparatus as shown in the plans finally submitted by the applicant shall be made without the previous sanction of the Commissioner obtained through the officer in charge and the Collector. If the Commissioner so directs, such additions or alterations may be permitted by the Collector subject to the Commissioner's approval. When any such additions or alterations are made fresh plans must be submitted to the Commissioner through the Collector with a certificate from the officer in charge that they are correct.

(6) It will be open to the Commissioner to verify at any time any of the descriptions and plans above mentioned, on proof or error, to require fresh ones to be submitted for sanction. Such verification may be made by any officer deputed for the purpose, and such officer shall be allowed full access to the premises. Sanction to the plan may be withheld until any point in respect of which they differ from plans already sanctioned has been rectified to the satisfaction of the Commissioner. The distiller shall be bound to carry out such rectification within a reasonable time to be fixed by the Commissioner.

License to be granted by Collector.

Applicant to carry out necessary additions or alterations.

Additions or alterations to buildings, stills, etc. require previous sanction of Commissioner

Commissioner may at any time verify description and plans.

44. (1) Before the license to work the distillery is granted by the Collector, the distiller shall give a security of Rs. 1,000 in cash or Government Promissory Notes for the due observation of the conditions of the license :Provided that in the case of a distiller who is required to pay the fee under the proviso to Rule 6, the amount of security shall be Rs. 250, or such other higher sum as may be fixed by the Commissioner.

(2) The distiller shall also execute a bond in the prescribed form pledging the distillery premises, still, all apparatus and utensils employed in the manufacture of spirit, and the stock-in-trade for the due discharge of all payments which may become due to Government :Provided that in lieu of so pledging the distillery premises the distiller may deposit Government Promissory Notes of such value as the Commissioner may direct, and execute an indemnity bond of a value fixed by the Commissioner.

Security deposit and execution of bond.

5. The license for a distillery must be renewed annually. Such renewal will be granted by the Collector subject to the approval of

Annual renewal of distillery license.

4 Substituted by Notification No. 1064-Ex., dated 18th November, 1953.

the Commissioner. 56. The Collector shall employ such officers and establishment as the Commissioner may direct to the charge of distillery. The cost of such officers and establishments shall be borne by the Government.Provided that in cases in which such cost is, in the opinion of the Commissioner, likely to exceed 5 percent of the duty on issues of spirit from the distillery during a financial year and in the case of every Mritasanjibani distillery, the distiller shall pay to Government -

(a) in advance a fee in cash equivalent to the estimated cost for three months as the Commissioner may fix, and

(b) monthly a fee in cash equivalent to the monthly cost which the Commissioner may fix, within seven days after the expiry of the month to which the fee relates.

Note - In computing the cost, the average of the pay (including special pay, if any) of officers and establishment, the contribution towards leave salary and pension and the compensatory allowances shall be included.

Establishments and their cost.

7. The distiller shall also provide suitable quarters, to the satisfaction of the Commissioner, for the officer in charge and other establishment, in close proximity of to the distillery, and shall keep the same and the appurtenances thereto in proper repair. He shall also supply such office furniture as may be required for the use of the officers within the distillery.

Quarters for establishment.

Office furniture

8. Every proprietor or manager of a licensed distillery must give at least fifteen days notice in writing to the Collector of the date on which he proposes to commence working the distillery, and at least one month's notice before he ceases to work it.

Distiller to give notice of commencement of working.

9. In case a distiller shall cease distilling or issuing spirits for a period exceeding one month, the Commissioner may withdraw the establishment stationed at the distillery and may prohibit all further distillation and issue of spirits until the distiller has given him fifteen days' notice in writing of the date on which he proposes to recommence distilling or issuing spirits as the case may be.

Power to withdraw establishment.

10. (1) The distiller shall so arrange his stills that spirit shall discharge into closed and locked receivers of such pattern that no spirit can be removed from them unless they are unlocked. The Commissioner may require the distiller to affix to any receiver an apparatus which will prevent the supply and discharge cocks being open at the same time. Every pipe used for conveying spirit or feints must be so fixed and placed as to be visible throughout its entire length and shall, if the Commissioner so direct, be coated with oil- paint of a particular colour, and all joints thereof

Arrangement of stills etc.

5 Substituted by Notification No. 1064-Ex., dated the 18th November, 1953.

shall be sealed in such manner as the Commissioner may prescribe. If the condensing worm is made of copper, or if the spirit passes through pipes wholly or partly made of copper, such measures as the Commissioner may direct shall be taken by the distiller in order to protect the liquor from serious contamination by the copper :

(2) There shall be no opening into any still, condenser or refrigerator, except-

(a) for connection with the wash backs or spirit receivers, (b) properly-secured air cocks or air valves of a number and description approved by the Commissioner .

(3) The distiller shall provide and maintain suitable and secure fastenings, wherever the Commissioner may deem necessary, to all stills, spirit receivers, vats pond other receptacles, fermentation-rooms, store-rooms, pipes, etc., to the satisfaction of the Commissioner, for the attachment of locks to be provided by Government, The keys of an such locks shall be retained by the officer in charge. The distiller shall attach his own locks to all rooms used for the storage of spirit and may, if he so desires, also attach his own lock to any other fasting but shall be bound immediately to remove such locks when required by the officer in charge, to allow free inspection.

(4) The distiller shall, if the Commissioner so direct,provide between the stills and the spirit receivers a glass safe by which the quantity and strength of the spirits which are running will at any moment be visible to the operator, or a sampling apparatus so constructed that for every sample, drawn off an exactly equal quantity shall be discharged into a closed and locked receptacle. If required, both a safe and sampling apparatus shall be provided. The distiller shall also, if so required, provide branch pipes fitted with locks by means of which spirits of different strength and qualities may be diverted into separate receivers.

(5) The stills, receivers and vats shall be so arranged that the spirit may b conveyed from the received to the store-room through closed pipes. All pipes and all joints thereof shall be secured and sealed to the satisfaction of the Commissioner.

(6) All receivers and vats in the distillery must be so placed as to admit of the contents being accurately gauged or measured and must be fitted to the satisfaction of the Commissioner with proper dipping rods so adjusted to fixed dipping places that the contents thereof at fifth of a centimeter of depth may at any time be ascertainable. The receivers and vats shall also be gauged in such manner as the Commissioner may, from time to time, direct; and no vessel shall be used as a receiver or store vat until it has been gauged and the gauging has been checked by such, officer as the

Fastings for Locks.

Glass safe sampling.

Closed pipes for conveyance of spirit from receivers to store-room.

Receivers and vats to be provided with dipping rods and to be gauged.

Commissioner may appoint. Records of the dimensions of such vessels shall be maintained in accordance with rules prescribed by the Commissioner.

(7) Every cock kept or used in a distillery shall be of such pattern and constructed in such manner as the Com-missioner may from time to time direct.

(8) The distiller shall cause to be painted with oil colour Rooms and shall keep so painted upon the outside of every room or place and upon a conspicuous part of every vessel and utensil the name of such room, place, vessel or utensil, according to the purpose, for which it is to be used, and when more than one room, place, vessel or utensil is used for the same purpose, he shall also paint a progressive number on each, beginning with the number one.

Cocks

Rooms and vessels to be marked and numbered

11. Spirit shall be stored in sound vessels. Each vessel shall bear a serial number, painted or cut thereon. Its external parts must also be clearly visible.

12. The distiller shall not cause or allow the dipping place or level of any vessel to be altered, or any device to be used to deceive the officer in charge in taking the gauge of any vessel, or to prevent him from taking a true account of all wash or spirit in any vessel.

13. The materials, or bases. to be used in distilling country spirit, shall only be of such descriptions as are generally approved by the Commissioner. All materials used must be of good quality, and no ingredients noxious to health shall be used in distillation or added to the spirit intended for human consumption.14. (I) The distiller shall only distil wash which has been prepared within the distillery, and no wash (except spent wash from which all alcohol has been extracted) shall be on any account removed from or allowed to pass out of the distillery, except sealed samples forwarded by the officer in charge to 6 [the Chemical Examiner to the Government of West Bengal] under the general or special orders of the Commissioner.

(2) Except with the written permission of the Commissioner, no wash or spirits not prepared or manufactured in the distillery shall be brought into the distillery.

Vessels for storage

Dipping place or level of vessel not to be altered

Materials

Wash not to be removed from distillery.

No wash or spirits to be brought into distillery.

(3) All wash made in the distillery shall be fermented in the Wash to be

6 The expression "the Chemical Examiner to the Government of Bengal" (now West Bengal) was substituted for the expression "the Chemical Examiner for Customs and Excise" in this rule and the rules 37, 75 and 97 by Notification No. 11658-Ex., dated the 21st June, 1938, published in the Calcutta Gazette, dated the 30th June, 1938, Part I, Page 1234.

wash backs and shall be conveyed directly there from into the still. conveyed directly from wash backs to still

(4) Except with the written permission of the Commissioner, the distiller shall not redistill any spirits other than those which remain in the sfeints or weak spirit receiver attached to the still and which have not been removed there from.

Redistillation

15. The spirits manufactured in the distillery shall be distilled above or below such strengths and shall be subject to such periodical analysis as the Commissioner may direct, and the contractor shall be bound to take steps to remedy any defects in his product which the Commissioner may consider material.

Strength of spirit manufactured to be regulated by Commissioner.

16. (1) The distiller shall give such notice in writing as the Commissioner may prescribe of the transfer of spirit from the spirit receivers to the spirit store room and of wash from the fermenting vessels or wash backs to the still. He shall also state the percentage of proof spirit contained in the wash immediately before the distillation thereof. This percentage shall be determined by means of instruments approved by the Commissioner.

(2) The distiller shall comply with such orders as may be prescribed by the commissioner for the periodical stoppage of distillation for the purpose of ascertaining the quantity of spirit distilled from the quantity of wash passed into the still.

Notices.

Declaration of proof spirit in wash.

Periodical stoppage of distillation.

17. All spirit collected in the receivers shall be transferred or conveyed into the spirit store-room without unnecessary delay provided that no spirit shall be so transferred between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Transfer of spirit from receiver to storeroom.

718. (1) Except as provided in sub-rule (2) all operations in the distillery requiring the presence of an officer of the Excise Department, shall be stopped on Sundays and public holidays declared as such under the Negotiable Instruments Act,1881. In a distillery, the distiller shall so arrange his operations that no officer of the Excise Department need ordinarily be on duty for more than eight hours on any working day.

(2) If the distiller requires any officer of the Excise Department to be on duty at the distillery on any Sunday or public holiday mentioned in sub-rule (1) or for more than eight hours on any working day, he shall give in writing at least twenty-four hours-notice to this effect to the officer of the Excise Department in charge of the distillery, stating clearly the work to be done and the approximate time that the work is likely to take:

Provided that no officer of the Excise Department shall be required to be on duty in a distillery on the following days except

Hours of work.

7 Substituted by Notification No. 1203F.T., dated the 23rd May 1950.

under, special circumstances and with the approval of the Collector:-

(i) Sundays.(ii) The Bengali New Year’s Day.(iii) The Id-ul-Fitr Day.(iv) The Independence Day.(v) The Second Day of Durgapuja(Mahastami Day).(vi) The Bijoya Dasami Day.(vii) The Kalipuja Day.(viii) The tenth day of Muharrum.(ix) The Id-uziZuha Day.(x) The Christmas Day.(xi) The Fateha-Duaz-Daham Day.(xii) The Sreepanchami Day; and(xiii) Mahatma Gandhi’s Birth Day.

(3) An officer of the Excise Department required under sub-rule (2) to be on duty in a distillery on a Sunday or any other public holiday mentioned in sub-rule (1) or for more than eight hours on any working day shall be entitled to overtime fee at such rates as may be fixed from time to time by the State Government. The amount payable as overtime fee shall be recovered from the distiller.

(2) When distillation is carried on at night and at all times when an officer of the Excise Department is not present, the distillery gate shall remain locked provided that on Sundays or public holidays mentioned in sub-rule (1) the registered servants of the distiller may be allowed ingress and egress between sunrise and sunset.

19. The distiller shall keep accurate and regular daily accounts showing _(1) the quantity and description of materials used, (2) the quantity of wash and spirit manufactured, (3) the quantity of wash used, (4) the quantity of spirit passed out, and (5) the quantities of wash and spirit in store. Under the last head the quantity of spirit remaining in stock in each cask, vat or other receptacle shall be shown. Such accounts shall be open at all times for inspection by the Excise Officer-in-charge or Other Excise Officer authorized by the Collector, and by all supervisor Excise Officers.

Daily accounts to be kept by distiller.

Warehouse for spirit820. (1) Warehouses for the supply of country spirit to retail vendors may be established by the Commissioner at convenient places at the expense of Government or at the expense of a person to whom the exclusive privilege of supplying or selling country spirit by wholesale has been granted under section 22,or of a licensed

Country spirit warehouses.

8 Substituted by Notification No. 875-Ex., dated the 28th November, 1959.

wholesale vendor of country spirit.Every such warehouse shall be supplied with country spirit

by such grantee of exclusive privilege of supplying country spirit or by such licensed wholesale vendor, as the case may be, for the area in which such warehouse lies and every such warehouse shall be in charge of an Excise Officer.

Provided that the Commissioner may, if he so thinks fit, permit country spirit to be received into a warehouse from sources other than those named above.

(2) The provisions of rule 7 shall, mutates mutandis, apply to all warehouses established at the expense of such grantee of exclusive privilege or licensed wholesale vendor.

921. Persons desirous of obtaining licenses to establish private warehouses, for the deposit and storage of spirit other than country spirit without payment of duty or fee shall to the Collector concerned, who shall not grant the license without the previous order of the Commissioner.

Rule 2 to 4 shall apply mutates mutandis to such applications, except that the amount of the security shall be Rs.250.

Private warehouses.

1022. The Collector shall employ such officers and establishment as the Commissioner may direct to the charge of a private warehouse. The licensee of the warehouse shall pay to the Government--

(a) in advance a fee in cash equivalent to the estimated cost of such officers and establishment for three months as the Commissioner may fix, and

(b) monthly a fee in cash equivalent to the monthly cost, which the Commissioner may fix, within seven days after the expiry of the month to which the fee relates.

In computing the cost of officers and establishment, the average of the pay (including special pay, if any) of officers and establishment, the contribution towards leave salary and pension and the compensatory allowance shall be included.

Establishment for supervision of private warehouses.

23. Rules 5,7,8 and 9 shall apply, mutates mutandis, to private warehouses, and Rules 10(6), 10(7), 11 and 12 to all warehouses.

Rules applicable to warehouses.

24. Every warehouse shall be under the joint lock and key of the officer in charge thereof and of the contractor, distiller or licensee of the warehouse the authorized representative of the aforesaid persons. The lock used by the officer in charge shall be a Government lock and the key shall remain in his personal custody.

Warehouse under joint lock of officer and contractor, etc.

9 Substituted by Notification No. 1064-Ex., dated the 18th November, 1953 and later amended by Notification No. 1265-Ex., dated 19th October, 1968.10 Substituted by Notification No. 1064-Ex., dated 18th November, 1953.

25. No spirits shall be received into any warehouse unless accompanied by a pass from the officer in charge of the distillery or of the warehouse from which they have been transferred, or by a special permit authorizing their receipt into the warehouse or, if the spirits have been brought into India from any place outside India, by a pass granted by the Collector.

What spirits may be received into warehouse.

26. Spirits intended for a warehouse shall be conveyed in sound and water- tight casks or approved metal vessels on which shall be painted in white oil paint, in letters not less than 2.5 cm. high, the number of the cask or vessel, its capacity to the nearest tenth of a litre, and the name of the distillery or warehouse from which it has been issued. Marks other than those specified above shall be obliterated.

Vessels for conveyance of spirit to warehouse.

27. Immediately on arrival of a consignment at the warehouse, the officer in charge shall open the vessels and gauge and prove the spirit in each vessel. If any deficiency in excess of the quantity allowed by Rule 28 below is found to have occurred in any vessel after measurement by such method as may from time to time be prescribed by the Commissioner, the whole contents of the vessel shall, if the contractor, distiller or licensee of the warehouse or the authorized representative of the aforesaid persons so desires, forthwith be measured by litre measures, and the quantity thus ascertained shall be accepted as correct. He shall then note the results in the prescribed registers, and also on the pass covering the consignment. One copy of the pass with the entries of receipt shall be immediately returned to the officer who issued the consignment, and the other copy with the entries thereon shall be kept in the warehouse.

Procedure to be observed on arrival of spirit at a warehouse .

1128. (1) An allowance shall be made for the actual loss in transit by leakage and evaporation of spirits transported or exported by land in wooden or metal vessels at rates not exceeding the maximum quantities specified in the following scale for wooden or metal vessels, as the case may be, namely :-

Maximum quantities of allowances Wooden Metal

Vessels Vessels Per cent. Per cent.

a) For a journey of not greater 2 ½ during than two days.b) For a journey of duration exceeding 3 1 two but not exceeding nine days.c) For a journey of duration exceeding 4 1½

11 Amended by Notification No. 1125-S.R., dated the 28th June, 1915, published on pages 1199-1200, Part I of the Calcutta Gazette of the 30th idem and by the Notification No. 691-Ex., dated 2nd June, 1971.

nine but not exceeding eighteen days. d) For a journey of duration exceeding 5 2eighteen days.

Provided that, if in any case, the temperature of the spirits on arrival of their distillation is found to be lower than that when they were dispatched, a further allowance shall be made, if necessary, of ’05 of a London proof litre percent for every degree Fahrenheit of difference between the two temperatures, in addition to any allowance that may be made under this sub-rule.

(2) The allowances made under this rule shall be determined by deducting from the quantity of spirits dispatched the quantity received at the place of destination, both quantities being stated in terms of London proof litres, and shall be calculated on the quantity of sprits contained in each vessel comprised in a consignment.

(3) If the report of an officer, by whom a consignment of spirits transported or exported by land has been gauged and proved on arrival of its destination, should show that wastage to a greater extent than that indicated in sub-rule (1) has occurred, the contractor, distiller or licensee of the warehouse transporting or exporting the same shall be liable to pay duty at the rate imposed under section 27 of the Act and, where fees were payable in respect of the pass under which spirits were transported or exported, such fees at the rate prescribed under section 38 and section 86 or under section 86 of the Act, on so much of the deficiency as in excess of the allowances referred to in sub-rule (1):

Provided that each case of excess deficiency shall be reported to the Commissioner for orders, and the Commissioner may, in his discretion on good cause being shown, remit the duty and fees or fees leviable on such deficiency.

(4) Duty and fees or fees on a deficiency of spirits in excess of the allowances referred to in sub-rule (1) shall, if levied, be realized by the Collector of the district in which the distillery or warehouse from which the spirits were dispatched is situated.

Method of calculation.

Excess wastage to be reported to Commissioner.

Duty and fees or fees on excess deficiency.

1229. Spirit intended for a warehouse is conveyed thereto under bond, and at the sole risk and responsibility of the contractor, distiller or licensee of the warehouse. The bond is discharged when the spirit has been deposited in the warehouse and has been gauged and proved by the officer in charge and after the duty and fees or fees on the excess deficiency, if any, has been realized.

Bond for conveyance of spirit to a warehouse.

12 Amended by Notification No. 691-Ex., dated 2nd June, 1971.

30. Spirit supplied to a warehouse shall be stored in casks or vats or wood of other material approved by the Commissioner. The contractor, distiller or licensee of the warehouse shall supply these articles, and all other appliances which may be required for the blending, reducing or issue of spirit, and shall bear the cost of storing, blending or reducing the spirit.

Storage of spirit in warehouses.

31. Casks or vats must be of such number and capacity set up according to such design and marked in such manner as the Commissioner may by general or special order, direct.

Casks or vats.

32. (1) Country spirit warehouses shall ordinarily kept close on Sundays and public holidays declared such under the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, and holidays declared by executive orders of Government. In other days, such warehouses shall not be kept open except during the hours fixed by the Collector. In case of urgent necessity, the Commissioner or the Collector, or the Sub-divisional Officer may direct that such a warehouse shall not be closed on any particular holiday.

(2) A private warehouse referred to in Rule 22 shall not be opened except during such hours as may be fixed by the Collector. The provisions of sub-rules (1), (2) and (3) of Rule 18 shall apply mutates mutandis, to such warehouse.

Hours of work in warehouse.

33. The contractor, distiller or licensee of a warehouse shall keep regular accounts in the warehouse showing the quantity and strength of sprits received in, issued from, and remaining in, the warehouse. Such account shall be open at all times to the inspection of the officer in charge and of all superior Excise Officers.

Accounts to be maintained by contractors, etc.

General provisions relating to distilleries and warehouses

34. The Commissioner may prescribe the minimum stock of spirit to be maintained in distilleries and warehouses established for the supply of country spirit to licensed retail vendors in specified areas.

Minimum stock for distillery and warehouses.

35. Contractors, distillers or licensees of warehouses who desire to manufacture foreign liquor for sale shall take out separate vend licenses.

Separate license necessary for manufacture of foreign liquor for sale and for compounding or bottling.

36. Manufacturers of foreign liquor shall take out separate compounding and bottling licenses in accordance with the rules framed therefore, if such operations are carried on. All processes connected with the bottling, flavouring, blending, reducing or colouring of foreign liquor shall be conducted under the supervision of the officer in charge in a separate building within the distillery or

warehouse enclosure.

37. When it is known or suspected that saccharine or other matter, or such a nature as to prevent the true strength being ascertained by means of hydrometer is present in spirit, the number if degrees to be added to the apparent strength on account of obscuration shall be certified by the Chemical Engineer to the Government of West Bengal on analysis of a sample of the spirit submitted to him, and duty shall be calculated on the quantity and strength of such spirit after the addition of the number of the degrees of proof certified as necessary to be added to the apparent strength as ascertained by the hydrometer.

Calculation of duty in case of obscuration.

1338. (1) An account should be taken by the Collector, Sub-divisional Officer or Superintendent of Excise of the stock of spirit in the distillery or warehouse at such intervals, not being greater than three months, and in such manner as the Commissioner may direct; and the contractor, distiller or licensee, as the case may be, shall pay to Government duty at the rate imposed under section 27 on spirit manufactured, imported or transported, as the case may be and where fees were payable in respect of the pass under which any spirit was imported or transported, fees at the rate imposed under section 38 and section 86 or under section 86 of the Act, on all spirit which may not be forthcoming and for which he shall be unable to account to the satisfaction of the Commissioner in excess of a wastage allowance of 1½ percent, with an additional allowance of 2 percent, on the proof quantity of spirit removed for bottling in a bonded warehouse.

(2) Wastage for the purpose of collection of duty and fees or fees on the excess as aforesaid shall be calculated annually, that is, at the end of the year for which the license is in force, but the contractor, distiller or licensee shall be called upon to explain any excess wastage and to adduce any evidence which he may desire to adduce in support of his explanation immediately after each occasion on which stock has been taken, and if it shall be proved to the satisfaction of the Commissioner or of such officer as he may specify that such deficiency in excess of 1½ percent, has been caused by accident or other unavoidable cause, the payment of duty and fees or fees at the above rate on such deficiency shall not be required.

Periodical stock-taking and levy of duty and fees or fees to be calculated annually but explanation to be called for immediately after stock taking.

Wastage for the purpose of collection duty and fees on excess deficiency.

39. For taking periodical stock, the gauging of spirit, in vats or casks may be done by dip-rod measurement, weighment, or by such other method as may be prescribed by the Commissioner. Whenever, by bung-rod measurement, the deficiency in any cask if found to be excessive, the whole contents of the cask shall be promptly measured by liter measures and the actual deficiency

Procedure for stock taking.

13 Amended by Notification No. 1085-Ex., dated 24th January, 1947 and No. 691-Ex., dated 2nd

June, 1971.

accurately ascertained.

40. Government shall be held responsible for the destruction, loss or damage, by fire, theft or any other cause whatsoever, occurring to any spirit stored in the distillery or warehouse or in gauging, weighment or proof. In case of fire or other accident, the officer in charge of distillery or warehouse shall immediately attend to open it at any hour by day or night.

Government not liable for loss, etc. of spirit in distilleries and warehouses.

41. Smoking or the use by any person whatsoever within a distillery or warehouse of naked lights of any description is prohibited. Closed lanterns only shall be used.

Smoking and naked lights prohibited.

42. Distilleries and warehouses shall be open only for the entrance and exit of persons who have business within them. Except with the permission of the Collector, the officer in charge or a superior officer of the Excise Department, no one except superior officers of other Government departments, contractors, distillers and licensees of warehouses, their servants, and licensed vendors who have come to purchase spirits, shall be allowed to enter the premises on any pretext. A register shall be kept of the names of all persons employed by contractors, distillers or licensees of warehouses, and all recognized employees will be supplied with passes for ingress and egress.

Admittance of persons into distilleries and warehouses.

43. The officer in charge of a distillery or warehouse may eject and exclude from the premises any person whom he shall find to have committed, or to be about to commit, any breach of these rules or of the provisions of the Act, or who shall be intoxicated, riotous or disorderly. All action taken by any officer under this rule shall forthwith be recorded by him in writing in his official diary for the information of his official superior.

Ejection of undesirable persons.

44. Contractors, distillers and licensees of warehouses shall be bound by the provisions of the Act, and by all rules for the management of distilleries and warehouses, or for issue of spirit therefrom, which may be prescribed under the Act from time to time, and by all special orders which may be issued by the Commissioner regarding any particular distillery or warehouse, and shall cause all persons employed by them to obey all such rules.

Contractors, etc., bound by provisions of Act and all rules and special orders.

45. If it comes to the knowledge of the contractor, distiller or licensee of a warehouse that any person employed by him in the manufacture, storage, receipt, blending, reducing or issue of spirits has committed any breach of the Act, or of the engagements entered into by him, it shall be his duty to report the matter to the officer in charge, and to comply with the directions of that officer respecting the continued employment of such person. The officer in charge shall report the matter together with the action taken by him to the Collector or Sub-divisional Officer.

Responsibility for breaches of rules by servants.

46 to 48. (Omitted by Notification No. 549-Ex., dated the 23rd April, 1953.)49. (1) (Omitted by Notification No. 459.Ex.,dated the 23rd April, 1953.)

14(2) On the expiry of the license, either on account of expiry of the term, or on account of cancellation or suspension, the Commissioner may take over or permit the successor of the contractor, distiller or licensee of the warehouse as the case may be, to take over the balance of liquor in the distillery at cost price, or may require the contractor, distiller or licensee of the warehouse, as the case may be, forthwith to remove all liquor remaining within the distillery or warehouse on payment of duty and fees or fees in full.

(3) If he shall fail so to remove all sprits within 10 days of the receipt of written notice from the Collector, the cost of any establishment which it may be necessary to employ at the distillery or warehouse, may be recovered from the defaulter, and if he shall fail to do so, within one month, the spirit shall be liable to forfeiture at the discretion of the Commissioner.

Disposal of liquor on expiry of license.

Issue of spirits from distilleries and warehouses1550. (1) Sprits may be removed from a distillery or warehouse other than a warehouse to which a bonded manufactory licensed under the Medicinal and Toilet preparations (Excise Duties) Rules, 1956, is attached-

(i) Under bond of payment for duty or pass fee as the case may be-

(a) for transport to another distillery or warehouse including a warehouse to which a bonded manufactory, as aforesaid, is attached, and , and

(b) for export to another State or Union Territory subject to the provision of rules made in this behalf under section 85 of the Act and such restrictions as the Commissioner may by a general or special order, impose;

(ii) on payment of duty or pass fee, as the case may be –(a) for local consumption or use subject to the

provisions of rule 53,(b) in the case of foreign liquor, for export to

Purposes for which sprits may be issued.

Under bond.

On payment of duty.

14 Amended by Notification No. 691-Ex., dated 2nd June, 1971.15 Sub-Rule (1) was substituted, and sub-rule (1A) inserted, by Notification No. 405-Ex., dated 2nd April, 1969. Sub-Rule (2) was inserted by Notification No. 147-Ex., dated 22nd August, 1952 and amended by Notification No. 691-Ex., dated 2nd June, 1971.

another State or Union Territory or supply out of India subject to the provision of Rule 53A, and

(c) in the case of rectified spirit, for export to another State or Union Territory or supply out of India when such export or supply has been permitted by the Commissioner by a general or special order.

(1A) Sprits may be removed from a warehouse to which a bonded manufactory as aforesaid, is attached,-

(i) under bond for payment of duty or pass fee as the case may be, only to the bonded manufactory, as aforesaid and to such other warehouse as the Collector may permit by an order in writing; and

(ii) on payment of duty or pass fee, as the case may be, only in accordance with the terms and conditions of the license granted in that behalf.

(2) Spirits other than India-made foreign liquor may be removed from distilleries and warehouses without payment of duty and pass fees or pass fees and without bond-

Without payment of duty and fees or fees.

(a) if issued to government servants empowered to purchase or remove them on the public service in West Bengal:

(b) if issued to hospitals, dispensaries and other medical institutions under Government management or supervision, the indents being signed or countersigned by a Presidency or Civil Surgeon:

Provided that in case of such hospitals or dispensaries where there is no Presidency or Civil Surgeon, the indents for duty-free supplies of such spirit shall be signed by the Principal Medical Officer in charge of the hospital or dispensary;

(c) If issued to hospitals, dispensaries and other medical institutions, not other Government management or supervision but specially authorized by the Commissioner (upon the certificate of an officer of or above the rank of an Assistant Director of Health Services as to their satisfactory management) to obtain supplies of such spirit without payment of duty and pass fee pass fees, the indents being signed or countersigned by the Principal Medical Officer in charge of such hospital, dispensary or institutions;

(d) if issued to veterinary institutions, the indents being signed or countersigned by an officer of or above the rank of an Assistant Director of the Veterinary Services or by Superintendents of Veterinary Services, Headquarters, Eastern Range, Western Range or Northern Range;

(e) if issued to any local body for bona fide public health work, the indent being signed or countersigned by the

District or Municipal Health Officer; or(f) if issued to any educational institution for laboratory

use or to any institution or person for research in the public interest or for development of science or industry, the indent being signed or countersigned by the head of the institution or by the person making research, as the case may be, and supply being limited to an annual quota fixed by the Collector of the district in which the institution is situated or the person carries on research, with the previous approval of the Commissioner (upon a certificate from the Director of Public Instruction, or the Director of Industries or the Director of Health Services, as the case may be).

Supply of such spirit without payment of duty and pass fees or pass fees under all the sub-clauses of this sub-rule shall be made in accordance with the terms and conditions of a permit granted by the Collector.1651. No spirit shall be removed from any distillery or warehouse unless it has been gauged and proved by the officer in charge. If removed under bond, the gauging may be by bung-rod; if otherwise than under bond, the gauging must be by actual measurement or by weighment.

Gauging and proving before removal.

1751A. (1) A person, who has imported or transported spirit other than country spirit under a bond for payment for duty and pass fees or pass fees shall pay to the State Government, in lieu of the duty and pass fees or pass fees payable under rule 38, duty and pass fees or pass fees in respect of any quantity of spirit so imported or transported, which having been certified as received in any vessel, is not forthcoming at the time when the spirit is gauged and proved for remover, unless he is able to account for the absence to the satisfaction of the Commissioner and subject to the allowances hereunder mentioned (calculated at proof strength):

Per Cent.For any period not

On spirits stored Exceeding 1 month 1In any wooden vessel. For any period

Exceeding 1 month 1½

On spirits stored in any metal vessel For any period -- ½

Levy of duty and fees and fees on excess deficiency in store of spirit other than country spirit.

16 Vide Notification No. 46-T.-S.R. dated the 13th May, 1917, published on pages 733-784. Part I of the Calcutta Gazette of the 23rd idem.17 Inserted by Notification No. 476T-S.R. dated the 26th October 1917, published on page 1730, Part I of the Calcutta Gazette of the 17th November 1917 and amended by Notification No. 691-Ex., dated 2nd June, 1971.

(2) The duty and pass fees or pass fees levied under sub-rule (1) shall be payable at the rate imposed under section 27 of the Act on spirit imported or transported and at the rate prescribed under section 38 and section 86 or section 86 thereof in respect of the pass under which the spirit was imported or transported and shall be paid before the removal from the distillery or excise warehouse, to which it has been taken, of the spirit which has been gauged and proved:

Provided that this rule shall not apply to spirit received and racked into store vats at distilleries and bonded laboratories; deficiencies in respect of such spirit shall be governed by rule 38.

1851b. A person who has stored spirit in a wooden cask under a bond for payment of duty and pass fees or pass fees for the purpose of maturing the said spirit shall, in lieu of duty and pass fees or pass fees payable under rule 51A, pay to the State Government the duty and pass fees imposed under section 27, section 38 and section 86 of the Act or pass fees under section 38 or section 86 of the Act in respect of any quantity of spirit so stored which is not forthcoming at the time of removal in excess of the allowances mentioned hereunder unless he is , however, able to account for the deficiency to the satisfaction of the Commissioner.

Where the time of storing in warehouse does not exceed-Percent of allowance of deficiency

2 months - - - - - - 26 months - - - - - - 31 year - - - - - - 42 years - - - - - - 63 years - - - - - - 84 years - - - - - - 105 years - - - - - - 12

1952. (1) Except when spirit is removed from a warehouse to a bonded manufactory under sub-rule (1A) of rule 50, no spirit shall be removed except under a pass granted by the Excise Officer-in-Charge in the prescribed form on payment of fees, if any, fixed for such pass and subject to the provision of rules made in this behalf under section 85 of the Act.

(2) A pass shall be granted on presentation of a requisition therefore by or on behalf of the licensee of the distillery or warehouse.

Pass for removal of spirit

18 Inserted by Notification No. 1085-Ex., dated 24th January 1947 and amended by Notification No. 691-Ex., dated 2nd June, 1971.19 Substituted by Notification No. 405-Ex., dated 2nd April, 1969, read with corrigendum No. 1468-Ex., dated 16th October, 1969.

(3) In regard to spirit other than denatured spirit, and the third copy shall such pass shall be granted also on proof of execution of bond by the person permitted to remove spirit under bond or on proof of payment of the prescribed duty or pass fee, as the case may be, or on production of a permit granted by the Collector under sub-rule 50.

(4) In regard to denatured spirit such pass shall be granted on production of proof that the person to whom denatured spirit is supplied is entitled to receive and possess it.

(5) The pass shall be prepared in triplicate. One copy of the pass shall be delivered to the transporter or the exporter to accompany the consignment, the second copy shall be forwarded to the Collector or the principal Excise Officer of the district to which the spirit is to be taken and the third copy is to be retained for record.2053. Spirits other than denatured spirits may be issued for local consumption or use only,- (1) in the case of foreign liquor, to licensed vendors of such liquor;(2) in the case of rectified spirit other than rectified spirit issued from a warehouse to which a bonded manufactory is attached-

(i) to a holder of license granted under the Medicinal and Toilet Preparations (Excise Duties) Rules,1956, subject to the condition that when duty imposed under the Medicinal and Toilet Preparations (Excise Duties) Act, 1955, has been paid, no duty imposed under section 27 of the Act, will be realized, unless the State Government directs otherwise.

(ii) to a holder of permit to obtain such spirit for the purpose of manufacture of medicinal and toilet preparations which do not contain alcohol,

(iii) to a holder of permit to obtain such spirit for use for scientific purposes as defined in the order issued under section 27 of the Act,

(iv) to a holder of permit to obtain such spirit for any purpose other than a scientific purpose mentioned above or the purpose of manufacture of medicinal and toilet preparations which do not contain alcohol,

(v) to a Chemist or Druggist holding a licence for the retail vend of such spirit, or

To whom sprits may be issued on payment of duty of pass fee for local consumption or use.

20 Substituted by Notification No. 405-Ex., dated 2nd April 1969 read with corrigendum No. 1468-Ex., dated 16th October 1969.

(vi) to a person holding ,-

(a) a license for the compounding and blending of foreign liquor , or

(b) (b) a license for the manufacture of colouring and flavouring substances ; and

(3) in the case of country spirit, to persons licensed to sell such spirit and permitted by the Commissioner to obtain supply thereof from the distillery or warehouse.

53A. (1) The Commissioner will be competent, when so necessary for conserving the stock of foreign liquor or local consumption, to regulate its issue for export and no foreign liquor shall be issued for supply out of India except with the previous sanction of the Commissioner subject to such conditions as he may impose.

(2) The pass which accompanies the consignment of foreign liquor, issued for export, or a true copy thereof shall be returned to the Excise Officer-in-Charge, who granted the pass with a certificate, signed by a Gazetted Excise Officer, not below the rank of District Excise Officer or Superintendent of Excise of the district where the foreign liquor is exported, stating the quantity that has actually reached the destination and, in case there is a difference between the quantity that has reached the destination and the quantity that has been shown in the pass, recording the reasons for the difference, within two months from the date of grant of the pass or such longer period, not exceeding another two months, as the Excise Officer-in-charge may allow on good grounds being shown to him.

In case the pass or a true copy thereof with a certificate as above is not returned or in case there is a short receipt of liquor at the destination, the license of the distillery or warehouse shall pay, both the duty imposed under section 27 of the Act and the additional license fee at the 'off rate' as prescribed under rules made under section 86 of the Actin respect of the entire quantity of liquor mentioned in the pass or the quantity of liquor which has been received short at the destination, as the case may be, unless the Commissioner exempts the payment in full or in part on good grounds being shown to him.

(3) Foreign liquor, issued for export, shall be carried by a railway, steamer or air carriage service from a station, nearest as far as possible, to the distillery or warehouse to the station nearest as far as possible to the premises, in the place of export, to which the liquor is consigned and the railway, steamer or air service receipt, shall be produced before the Excise Officer-in-Charge for verification:

Issue of foreign liquor on payment of duty or pass-fee for export outside West Bengal or supply out of India.

Provided that when any liquor is carried otherwise than by railway, steamer or air carriage service, an amount equal to or half the excise duty on the liquor so carried imposed under section 27 of the Act shall be paid as security to the credit of the Collector of the district in which the distillery or warehouse is situated according as the excise duty leviable on such liquor in the State or Union Territory to which the liquor is exported is lower than or is equal to or greater than the excise duty leviable on such liquor in West Bengal.

Provided further that the security mentioned above shall be refunded on receipt of the certificate mentioned in sub-rule (2) of this rule after an amount equal to the excise duty at the rate imposed under section 27 of the Act, and the additional license fee at the 'off rate' as prescribed under rules made under section 86 of the Act, has been deducted in respect of the quantity of foreign liquor in regard to which the certificate mentioned in sub-rule (2) of this rule has not been produced or which has been received short at the destination, unless, however, the Commissioner, exempts such payment in full or in part on good grounds being shown to him.

2153B. Denatured spirits may be issued only to persons licensed to sell such spirit or to possess such spirit in excess of the quantity fixed as the limit for private possession.

To whom denatured spirits may be issued.

54. Retail vendors of country spirit shall take their supplies from the warehouse which is established for the area in which retail shops are situated, and at such strength or strengths as may from time to time be prescribed by the State Government for retail sale. For special reasons the Collector may permit retail vendors to take their supplies from any other warehouse assigned to the same contractor.

Supply of country spirits to retail vendors.

55. No substance except water used for reducing purposes shall be added to country spirit for supply to licensed retail vendors thereof.

Only water may be added to country spirit

56. The reduction of country spirit of high strength to the strength or strengths prescribed for issue is the duty of the contractor. It shall be made according to rules framed by the Commissioner.

Reduction to be made by contractors.

21 Inserted by Notification No. 46-T.S.R., dated 15th May, 1917 and re-numbered as rule 53B by Notification No. 405-Ex., dated 2nd April, 1969.

57. Where reduced spirit is issued to retail vendors from a distillery, reduction and issue shall be made in and from a separate warehouse within or attached to the distillery.

Separate warehouse for reduction and issue at distillery.

58. The quantity of country spirit to be removed from a distillery to any excise warehouse shall not ordinarily be less than 225 bulk litres. But issues of reduced spirit may be made to licensed vendors of country spirit from a distillery or warehouse in any quantity not less than 22 litres in the case of spirit less than 600 under proof in strength, and 5 litres in the case of spirit not less than 600 under proof.

Minimum quantity to be issued from a distillery or warehouse.

Compounding and blending of potable foreign liquor and bottling the same for the purpose of sale.

59 to 63, 63A, 64 to 86. [Superseded by Notification No. 86-T.-Ex., dated the 3rd May, 1949 – printed on page 1.]

67. Superseded by Notification No. 487-T.R., dated the 3rd June, 1937.

68. The holder of a bottling license may, by the addition of water, alter the strength of spirits to be bottled, but he shall not compound or blend spirit unless he also holds a compounding license.

Bottling license does not cover compounding or blending.

69. Superseded by Notification No. 487-T.R., dated 3rd June, 1937.

70 to 71. [Superseded vide Notification No. 86T.-Ex., dated the 3 rd

May, 1940, printed on page ……..].

Denatured Spirit

72. Spirit imported from other States in India under bond in accordance with the rules for import of foreign liquor may be denatured in the distillery or excise warehouse where such spirit is warehoused, and spirit manufactured in any distillery in West Bengal may be denatured in that distillery.

Places where spirit may be denatured.

73. The substances indicated below, in such quantities as may from time to time be prescribed by the State Government may be used as denaturants for denaturing plain spirit in West Bengal either for use generally or for use specially in a particular manufacture or industry :-

(a) General denaturants -(i) Light caoutchoucine;(ii) Pyridine bases; and(iii) Any other chemical substance prescribed

by the State Government as a general denaturant.

(b) Special denaturants – Wood, naptha and other chemical

Denaturants prescribed for West Bengal.

substances prescribed by the State Government as special denaturants.

74. The general denaturants and their proper quantity for use in West Bengal shall, for every 100 litres of plain spirit to be denatured, be any one of the following namely :-(i) a mixture of half a litre of light caoutchchoucine and

half a litre of pyridine bases; (ii) a mixture of half a litre of light caoutchchoucine and

half a litre of methanol;(iii) one litre of light caoutchchoucine, and (iv) five litres of wood naptha;

Provided that the Commissioner may from time to time by order in writing direct which one of the general denaturants as aforesaid shall be used in all or any of the distilleries and excise warehouses in West Bengal.

General Denaturants

74A. The special denaturants and their proper quantity shall, for every 100 litres of plain spirit to be denatured for use in the manufacture or industry specified in column (2) of the Table below, be as specified in the formula in the corresponding entries in column (3) thereof –

Special Denaturants

Table

Serial No.

(1)

Manufacture or industry

(2)

Formula, specifying special denaturants and their proper

quantity.(3)

(1) Manufacture involving chemical conversion of alcohol, e.g., manufacture of ethylene and its derivatives, manufacture of acetaldehyde and its derivatives, manufacture of other acetone.

Formula No. SD 1 : 5 litres of Methyl Alcohol orFormula No. SD 2 : 2 litres of Methyl Alcohol with two litres of Benzene orFormula No. SD 3 : 0-5 litres of Benzene with 0-5 litres of Petroleum Ether; orFormula No. SD 4 : 5 litres of Ethyl Ether; orFormula No. SD 5 : 0-2 litres of Crotonaldehyde; orFormula No. SD 6 : 0-5 litres of Acetone; orFormula No. SD 7 : 0-5 litres of Acetadol or Acetaldehyde.

(2) Manufacture of Chloroform, Chlorol and its derivatives

Formula No. SD 8 : 1 litre of crude Chloroform; or

Serial No.

(1)

Manufacture or industry

(2)

Formula, specifying special denaturants and their proper

quantity.(3)

including D.D.T. Formula No. SD 9 : 1 per cent by weight of Choroal Hydrate.

(3) Manufacture of Ethyl Acetate, Ethyl Benzoate and various other ethyl esters

Formula No. SD 10 : 2 per cent of esters of the organic acid which is to be produced.

(4) Manufacture of a solvent for use in –(a) lacquers, polishes and

varnishes;(b) the manufacture of

Thinners, Cellulose and resinous materials;

(c) the purification of chemicals, and

(d) the extraction process.

Formula No. SD 11 : 5 litres of Methyl Alcohol or Benzene or Acetone or Ether or Ethyl Acetate or any combination of these chemicals amounting to 5 litres.

(5) Manufacture of adhesive and binders, disinfectants and insecticides, embalming and preserving solutions, etc.

Formula No. SD 12 : 10 litres of Formaldehyde solution containing not less than 37 per cent formaldehyde.

(6) Manufacture of Shellac from Crude Lac.

Formula No. SD 13 : 1 per cent of Acetone or 1 per cent of Methyl Alcohol.

(7) Manufacture of transparent soap.

Formula No. SD 14 : 0-06 per cent of caustic Soda or Potash together with 0-5 per cent of Castor Oil.

(8) Manufacture of Synthetic Pine Oil.

Formula No. SD 15 : 5 per cent of Turpentine Oil.

(9) Manufacture of perfumes. Formula No. SD 16 : 1 litre of Diethyl Pthalate; or Formula No. SD 17 : 22.5 grams of Brucine or Brucine Sulphate.

Provide that it shall be open to the Commissioner on adequate grounds and by an order in writing, to permit the use, for a period not exceeding six months at a time, of any denaturant not prescribed above in such quantity as he may specify or any denaturant prescribed above in any quantity other than the quantity specified above, in any manufacture or industry whether mentioned above or not.

Rules relating to Ordinary Denatured Spirit

75. The following rules shall be observed in the case of denaturing with the general denaturants :-

(i) Denaturing shall be conducted and the stock of denatured spirit shall be kept in a separate building or room within the distillery or warehouse enclosure which shall be approved by the Commissioner. Except with the special sanction of the Commissioner, no other liquor shall be kept in this room.

(ii) A fixed vat or vats of a capacity of not less than 2045 litres each shall be erected in the denaturing room and shall before use be gauged and tabulated according to rules prescribed by the Commissioner.

(iii) A secure room or compartment shall be provided for the sole purpose of storing denaturants. The room or compartment shall be on the same premises as, but separate from the denaturing room.

(iv) The denaturants shall be procured at his own expense by the person desiring to denature spirit. They shall be lodged at the distillery or warehouse and made over to the custody of the Officer-in-charge, who shall keep them under excise lock in the compartment or room provide for the storage of denaturants. A guarantee considered by the Chemical Examiner to the Government of West Bengal to be suitable shall be submitted with each consignment of pyridine bases that they have been manufactured solely from a mineral source (such as coal-tar or shale).

(v) Immediately on receipt of a consignment of denaturants the Officer-in-charge shall send a sample of 300 mililitre from each receptacle to the Chemical Examiner to the Government of West Bengal together with an advice form and, in the case of pyridine bases, with a copy of the guarantee referred to in the last preceding clause.

(vi) No denaturants shall be used for denaturing spirit until the Chemical Examiner to the Government of West Bengal has certified that the samples thereof conform with the prescribed specifications and are suitable for denaturing alcohol. When that officer has so certified, the denaturants in respect of which he has certified shall be regarded as "approved denaturants".

(vii) Denaturants which have been pronounced by the Chemical Examiner to the Government of West Bengal to be unsuitable for denaturing purposes shall be returned by the Officer-in-charge to the owner who shall forthwith remove them from the distillery or warehouse.

(viii) The contents of each receptacle which contains denaturant shall be kept separate as long as they are in the compartment or room provided for the storage of denaturants, and the contents of two or more receptacles shall on no account be mixed whilst the denaturants are in that room.

Operation to be carried on in separate building or room within distillery or warehouse enclosure.

Vats

Secure room for storing denaturants.

Denaturants to be made over to Officer-in-charge

Samples to be sent to Chemical Examiner

Certificate of Chemical Examiner necessary before use of denaturants

Removal of unsuitable denaturants

Denaturants not to be mixed in storage-room

(ix) The strength of the spirit to be denatured shall not be less than [60 over-proof].

(x) The minimum quantity of spirit which shall be denatured at any one time shall be 1820 litres.

(xi) No spirit shall be issued for denaturation or placed in the vat in the denaturing room unless a proper quantity of approved denaturants has been provided and the proper Excise Officers have arranged to be present.

(xii) 22The proper quantity of the denaturants prescribed under rule 74 shall be removed from the compartment or the room provided for the storage of denaturants to the denaturing room in the presence of an Excise Officer, who shall keep it in his sight until it has been mixed with the spirit.

(xiii) The contents of each cask or drum containing spirits issued for denaturation shall be gauged and proved by the Officer-in-charge. He shall be careful to ascertain whether any denaturant appears to be already present therein.

(xiv) The admixture of the spirit and the denaturants shall be effected in the vat or vats provided in the denaturing-room. The vat or vats shall be empty before operation is begun. After admixture the contents of the vat or vats shall be thoroughly mixed with a proper stirring implement. The process of admixture and stirring shall be witnessed by two Excise Officers an the owner of the spirit or his agent.

(xv) On the expiration of 24 hours, the contents of the vat or vats shall again be thoroughly stirred, and the Officer-in-charge shall immediately draw a sample from each vat and despatch it to the Chemical Examiner to the Government of West Bengal together with an advice form, a reference to the certificates relating to the denaturants used and a statement showing the manner in which the denaturation has been effected, which shall be signed by both the Excise Officers who witnessed it.

Minimum strength spirit to be denatured

Minimum quantity

Procedure before issue of spirit for denaturation.

Issue of denaturants

Gauge, proof and examination of spirits before denaturation

Admixture of spirit and denaturants.

Sample of denatured spirit from each vat to be sent to Chemical Examiner.

(xvi) When the Chemical Examiner to the Government of West Bengal reports that the denaturation has been satisfactorily performed the denatured spirit may be issued in accordance with the provisions of Rules 53B and 76. Should that Officer, however, report that the denaturation has not been satisfactorily performed, the claim in respect of the whole of the spirit represented by the sample shall be rejected and the spirit shall either be dealt with in all respects as spirit chargeable with the ordinary rate of duty, if the owner of the spirit so desires, or be further treated in accordance with these rules.

Procedure on receipt of Cehmical Examiner's report.

76. No denatured spirit may be removed from the denaturing-room except on the production of a requisition signed by the authorized manufacturer showing that the purchaser is authorized

Denatured spirit only to be issued on requisitions of manufacturer.

22 Substituted by Notification No. 865-Ex., dated 29th June, 1967.

to receive such spirit.2377. (Omitted)

78. All vessels in which denatured spirit is manufactured, stored or supplied shall be legibly painted, branded or labeled with the words Denatured Spirit.

Marking of vessels.

79. Every person authorized to denature spirit shall keep an account and shall enter daily, at any time when required by an Excise Officer, the quantity of such spirit manufactured and the separate quantities issued both in bulk and at proof.

Daily account of denatured spirit .

80. Except with the previous sanction of the Commissioner, no spirits shall be added to any denatured spirit already contained in any vessel in a distillery or warehouse.

Addition of spirit to denatured spirit prohibited.

2481. As each vessel is emptied, the net deficiency or excess as compared with the quantity of denatured spirit placed in it shall be calculated, and the authorized manufacturer shall pay to Government duty, at the rate imposed under section 27 on rectified spirit manufactured in a distillery, on any deficiency or excess so found in excess of one per cent proof of the quantity of spirit placed in the vessel:

Provided that, if it shall be proved to the satisfaction of the Commissioner or of such officer as he may specify, that a deficiency in excess of one per cent, was due to accident or other unavoidable cause, the payment of duty on such deficiency shall not be required.

Levy of duty on deficiency or excess of denatured spirit.

82. Licenses for sale of denatured spirit shall be granted by the Collector to approved persons only. As a general rule, such licenses shall not be granted to vendors of potable spirit.

License for sale to be granted to approved persons only.

83. Licenses for possession of denatured spirit for business purposes, in excess of the quantity fixed as the limit for private possession, shall be issued only to varnish makers, carpenters, chemists and others who may require such spirit in large quantities for their business, and shall be for possession of such quantity as may be specified in each case by the Collector.

License for possession in excess of private possession.

2583A. Licenses may be granted with the previous approval of the Commissioner for the possession of denatured spirit up to such quantity as may be specified by the Commissioner in this behalf for the purpose only of supply outside India.

License for possession for the purpose of supply outside India.

84. The room where denatured spirit may be stored by vendors Storage of

23 Vide Notification No. 2715-Ex., dated the 4th February, 1938, published on page 310, Part I of the Calcutta Gazette of the 10th idem.24 Substituted by Notification No. 46-T-S.R., dated the 15th May, 1917, published on pages 733-734, Part I of the Calcutta Gazette of the 23rd idem.25 Inserted by Notification No. 509-Ex., dated the 3rd June, 1958.

thereof, or by persons licensed to possess in quantities in excess of the quantity fixed as the limit of private possession, shall be built of uninflammable material and shall be well-ventilated so as to prevent the accumulation of spirit fumes. No naked lights or fire shall be used or kept in such room. All receptacles containing such spirit be kept closed so as to prevent the accumulation of spirit fumes in the room.

denatured spirit.

85. The quantity in excess of which denatured spirit shall not be possessed is fixed as follows:-

Limit of possession of denatured spirit.

(a) When possessed by a licensed wholesale vendor of denatured spirit.

No limit

(b) When possessed by a common carrier or warehouseman as such.

The quantity specified in the pass under which such denatured spirit is imported, exported or transported.

(c) When possessed by persons specially licensed to possess denatured spirit for business purposes

Such quantity as may be specified in the license.

(d) When possessed by a licensed retail vendor of denatured spirit.

275 litres.26

(e) When possessed by any other person. 4 litres.26

RULES RELATING TO SPECIAL DENATURED SPIRIT

86. Subject to such relaxation as the Commissioner may, in his discretion and by an order in writing, permit, in any case, the rules 75, 76, 78,79,80 shall mutatis mutandis apply to the denaturing of spirit with special denaturants and no spirit so denatured shall be sold save under cover of a license for the wholesale vend of denatured spirits granted by the Collector and in accordance with special conditions, if any, which the commissioner may prescribe in that behalf.2786A. Special denatured spirit shall be stored, supplied possessed and used subject to such excise control and conditions as the State Government may prescribe either generally in respect of a manufacture or industry or specially in any particular case.

LICENSING AND REGULATION OF BREWERIES

PREMISES AND LICENSES

87. (I) Every brewer for sale and every brewer of beer for private consumption shall, before he begins to brew, deliver to the

Application for brewing license.

26 Quantities in bulk litres substituted for quantities in bulk gallons by Notification No. 357-Ex., dated the 22nd March, 1962 read with Corrigendum No. 492-Ex., dated the 9th April, 1964.27 The heading and rule 86 substituted, and rule 86A inserted, by Notification No. 1467-Ex., dated 2nd December, 1968.

Commissioner through the District Officer a description, in writing, signed by himself, of all premises, rooms, places and vessels intended to be used in his business, specifying the purpose for which each is to be used, and the distinguishing mark of each. 28[All such premises, rooms, places and vessels shall either be owned or held on valid lease by the brewer.] On the outside of the door of every room and place in which the business is carried on, and on some conspicuous part of each of the aforesaid vessels, there shall be legibly painted in oil colour the name of the vessel, utensils, room or place according to the purpose for which it is intended to be used. If more than one vessel is used for the same purpose, each shall be distinguished by a progressive number.

(2) Before the license to brew is granted, an Excise Officer authorized by the Commissioner shall inspect the premises, etc., compare the same with the particulars stated in the aforesaid written description and certify accordingly. The license shall be granted by the Collector with the sanction of the Commissioner if the description be found satisfactory [and the title of the applicant to the premises, rooms, places and vessels mentioned in the description be found to be established] and the applicant be considered a fit person to receive a license.

29(3) The license for a brewery must be renewed annually.

The provisions of sub-rules (I) and (2) shall apply mutatis mutandis to an application for the renewal of the license, and such renewal shall be granted by the Collector with the sanction of the Commissioner if the applicant continues to satisfy the conditions for the grant of a license specified in sub-rule (2)

Inspection of premises and grant of license.

License to be renewed annually.

3087A. The provision of rule 18 regarding the hours of work and overtime fees shall apply mutatis mutandis to a brewery licensed under rule 87 in respect of the Excise Officers and establishment employed thereat as they apply to a distillery in respect of officers of the Excise Department.

Hours of work and overtime fees.

SUGAR

88. All sugar shall be stored in a room specially set apart for it and duly described as a “Sugar Store”. No sugar shall be removed from the sugar store into any other part of the brewery except in pursuance of an entry under Rule 91 for use in a brewing.

Storage and use of sugar.

VESSELS28 Words within brackets inserted by Notification No. 241-Ex., dated the 21st February, 1967.29 Amended by Notification No. 241-Ex., dated the 21st February, 1967.30 Inserted by Notification No. 1142-Ex., dated 31st August, 1967.

89. Mass tuns, underbacks, wort receivers, copper and collecting and fermenting vessels shall be so placed and fixed that the contents can be accurately gauged or measured.

Manner of fixing vessels.

90. (1) The name and number of each vessel shall be legibly painted in oil colour on some conspicuous part thereof, according to the purpose for which it is intended to be used.

31(2) The brewer shall not begin to construct, nor alter the shape, position or capacity of any mash run, underback, wort receiver, copper, collecting or fermenting vessel, or other brewing vessel, without giving two days’ previous notice in writing to the Excise Officer. When the alterations have been completed, or the additional vessel or vessels have been constructed, the brewer shall deliver a description of the same in accordance with the sub-paragraph (1) of Rule 87.

Marking.

Position, etc. not to be altered without notice.

BREWING BOOK

91. The Excise Officer authorized by the Commissioner shall deliver to every brewer a book in which the brewer shall enter in the proper columns at least twenty-four hours before beginning to mash any malt, etc., or to dissolve any sugar, the day and hour of brewing, with the date of making the entry, and at least two hours before the time entered for mashing or dissolving, he shall enter separately the quantity of malt and unmalted corn, rice, maize grits, flaked maize and other similar preparations and of sugar to be used and the hour when all the worts will be drawn off the grains in the mash tun.

Particulars to be entered in brewing book.

92. The Commissioner may require any brewer to send to the proper officer, 48 hours before brewing, a written notice of his intention to brew.

Notice before brewing.

93. The brewer shall also enter in the same book prescribed under Rule 91 the quantity and gravity before fermentation of the worts collected, the number and description of the vessel or vessels in which the worts were collected, and the date and hour when the entry is made. Such entry shall be made within one hour after the collection has been completed.

Further entries in brewing book.

31 Amended by Notification No. 299-S.R., dated the 1st February, 1918, published on page 235, Part I of the Calcutta Gazette of the 6th idem.

94. The brewer shall enter the true original gravity of the worts, and he shall keep the book on the premises entered in the description referred to in Rule 87, at all times accessible to the officer and ready for his inspection.

Brewing book to be kept on premises.

95. An approved saccharometer and tables shall be used to ascertain the quantity of worts by relation to gravity

Saccharometer.

96. The highest account of worts shall be accepted and charged with duty, whether it be that entered by the brewer or that found by the officer after the entry of the worts collected has been made.

Highest account of worts to be charged with duty.

97. When fermentation has commenced in any worts so that the original gravity cannot be ascertained by the saccharometer, such gravity shall be determined if necessary, by the Chemical Examiner to the Government of West Bengal in such manner as shall be approved by the Commissioner.

Determination of original gravity.

98. If at any time the original gravity of any worts contained in the collecting or fermenting vessels shall be found to exceed by five degrees that entered by the brewer, or ascertained by the officer, the Commissioner may deem such worts to be the produce of a fresh brewing and charge duty accordingly.

Increase in original gravity.

99. The brewing book is the property of the Government. Brewing book – Government property.

100. The brewer shall not cancel, obliterate or alter any entry or make any entry which is untrue in any particular.

Altered or false entry in brewing book.

101. The duty on the worts shall become due immediately on being charged. A date in each month not later than the 10 th of the month succeeding that in which the duty was charged may be fixed by the Commissioner for payment of the duty.

Date for payment of duty.

102. The concealment of worts or beer, and the fraudulent increase of quantity or gravity, after an account has been taken and the duty has been charged, entail penalties imposed under sections 52 and 63 of the Act.

Concealment of worts, etc.

MODE OF WORKING

103. All worts shall be removed successively and in the customary order of brewing to the underback, coppers, coolers and collecting or fermenting vessels, and shall not be removed from the last named vessels until an account has been taken by the officer, or until after the expiration of twelve hours from the time at which the worts are collected.

Collection and removal of worts.

104. All the produce of a brewing shall be collected in the collecting or fermenting vessels within twelve hours from the time

Time for collection of worts.

when the wort has commenced running into the collecting or fermenting vessel.

105. The total produce of a brewing shall be kept separate from the produce of any other brewing for sixteen hours unless an account of such total produce has been taken by the officer.

Brewing to be kept separate.

106. No produce of any brewing shall be mixed with that of any other brewing except in the store vats or casks, unless the brewer has given previous notice in writing in the brewing book of his intention to mix worts in the fermenting vessels and specifies in writing the quantity and gravity of the worts when mixed.

Mixing of worts.

107. No returned beer or fermented liquor shall be put into any of the brewing or fermenting vessels described under Rule 87.

Vessels not to be used for returned beer, etc.

SCALES AND WEIGHTS

108. Every brewer shall provide and maintain just scales and weighs, and shall render assistance to any inspecting officer in taking account.

Assistance to Officer.

WASTAGE

109. An allowance of 10 percent shall be made from the monthly total of the charges on account of wastage.

110. Duty may be remitted or repaid in respect of worts or beer on which duty has been charged, and which may have been destroyed by accidental fire or other unavoidable cause, while on the licensed premises of a brewer for sale, provided that satisfactory evidence of such loss has been produced to the Commissioner.

Allowance for wastage.

Remission of duty in case of accidental loss.

ALLOWANCE FOR SOUR OR SPOILT BEER

111. Written application must be made to the Commissioner for an allowance for sour or spoilt beer.

Allowance for spoilt beer.

112. There must be satisfactory evidence to enable the Commissioner to decide whether the beer can be identified with its proper brewing, subject to the following rules. If he is satisfied on this point, he will sanction the destruction of the beer in the

Destruction of sour or spoilt beer.

presence of an Excise Officer.

113. The brewer must sign a declaration that the beer was brewed by him and had never left his premises, and that no part of it consists of “bottoms” or “returns” from vendors or other customers.

Brewer's declaration.

114. Representative samples must be taken and sent to such laboratory as the Commissioner may decide upon.

Samples.

115. The officer must state the means by which he checked the bulk quantity, and after samples have been taken as aforesaid, he must witness the destruction of the beer and record a note of the fact in the brewing book.

Destruction of spoilt beer.

116. On receipt of a satisfactory report from the laboratory, the brewer may be credited with the proper amount of duty.

Credit of duty allowable.

MATERIALS

117. The Commissioner may prohibit the use of any material in the manufacture of beer which is, in his opinion, of a deleterious nature.

Use of deleterious matter may be prohibited.

118. The Excise Officer or any inspecting officer may take, without payment, for the purpose of analysis, samples of any beer or material used in the manufacture thereof.

Analysis of sample.

119. A brewer for sale, or a dealer in or a retailer of beer, shall not dilute, adulterate or add anything to beer, except finings or other matter sanctioned by the Commissioner.

Addition of finings, etc., to beer.

32CULTIVATION, MANUFACTURE AND STORAGE OF GANJA (INCLUDING STORAGE OF BHANG)

120. The cultivation, manufacture, storage and issue of ganja in the ganja mahal shall be carried on under the direct control of the Superintendent of Excise, acting under the general supervision of the collector.

Control and general supervision.

121. A person desirous of cultivating the hemp plant for the purpose of making ganja shall apply in writing, before the 15 th

January of each year, to the Superintendent of Excise, for a license authorizing him to cultivate. The application shall be made in the prescribed form and shall specify the name of the cultivator, his residence, the area of the intended cultivation, the survey number

Application for license to cultivate.

32 The words "at Naogaon, in the Rajshahi district" and words and expressions appertaining to cultivation, manufacture and storage of ganja at Naogaon by the Naogaon Ganja Cultivator's Co-operative Society, Limited, have been omitted and, where necessary, substituted by suitable word, and expressions in the heading and in the following rules viz., 120, 121, 122, 127, 130, 134, 136, 137, 138, 140, 141, 142, 143, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151 and 154 by Notification No. 1006-F.T., dated the 9th May, 1951.Rules 121, 123 and 124 have been amended subsequently by Notification No. 1185-Ex., dated 3rd December, 1954 and Notification No. 49-Ex., dated 12th January, 1971.

of the field, and the name of the village in which it is situated. No application shall be accepted after the 15 th January without the special sanction of the Commissioner.

122. The area to be licensed in each year shall be fixed by the Collector with the sanction of the Commissioner, and shall not exceed 415.20 hectares.

Maximum area of ganja cultivation.

123. After considering the applications and making such inquiries as may be necessary, regarding the applicants, the Superintendent of Excise shall pass orders on them. The licenses shall be issued by the 15th March.

Issue of licenses

124. The license shall be granted for one year from the 1st April to the 31st March following, or with the previous sanction of the Commissioner, a part thereof only, and the cultivator shall sign a counterpart, which will be filed in the office of the Superintendent of the Excise.

Duration of licenses.

125. (1) No license shall be granted to a person who has been convicted of an offence against the Excise or Opium law or a person who is suspected of having dealt illicitly with the ganja grown or manufactured by him or by others in previous years.

(2) In the absence of a satisfactory explanation, it shall be held to be an adequate ground for suspicion of illicit practices on the part of an individual, if in a previous year he showed an outturn considerably less than the general average of the ganja mahal.

Licenses not to be granted to certain persons.

126. The superintendent of excise shall, under the general control of the Collector, fix a number of chatars or manufacturing yards at which the cultivators be bound to manufacture their ganja.

Chatars.

127. (1) Chatars shall be constructed by the wholesale vendors of ganja and bhang and shall be in accordance with specifications approved from time to time by the Commissioner. They shall be arranged in the form of hollow squares or rectangles and shall be securely fenced. No buildings, other than the quarters for the officers in charge and shelters for guards on duty, shall be erected in proximity to the fencing. Each chatar shall be in-charge of an officer not below the rank of Sub-Inspector.

(2) A licensed cultivator shall manufacture his crop at such chatar as the Superintendent of Excise may direct, and shall be bound to carry out all orders given by the officer-in-Charge of the chatar or Excise officers superior to him.

Arrangements of Chatars.

Licensee to comply with orders.

128. (1) A cultivator shall give notice, three days before commences to cut his crop, to the Superintendent of Excise or to the Circle Officer, who shall thereupon endorse on the license to cultivate the requisite permission to cut.

(2) No cultivator shall employ in the cutting or manufacture of the crop any person, who has been convicted of an offence

Notice before cutting crop.

Prohibition of

against the Excise or Opium laws or any person to whom a license to cultivate has been refused under Rule 125, or who is suspected of having resorted to illicit dealing with regard to ganja, or any person whose employment the Superintendent of Excise may prohibit.

employment of certain persons.

129. [Cancelled].33

130. (1) A licensed cultivator shall not accumulate more than 37 kilograms of manufactured ganja at the chatar. Directly 37 kilograms have accumulated, or, if the outtern of the area cultivated be less than 37 kilograms, directly the manufacture of his crop has been completed, the licensed cultivator shall dispatch the manufactured ganja securely packed in gunny to the public warehouse.

(2) Before dispatch from the chatar, the ganja shall be carefully cleaned, and all dust and foreign matter removed, and it shall be securely packed in bags sealed along each seam and weighed by the officer in charge of the chater. The name of the circle, the name and residence of the owner, the gross weight of the package, the net weight of ganja, the year of produce and kind of ganja (i.e. flat or round chur) shall be legibly painted on each bag. The officer in charge shall also grant to the owner a transport pass in the prescribed form for each consignment.

Despatch of manufactured ganja to public warehouse.

131. All plants uprooted in the process of cultivation or of harvesting, and not used for the preparation of ganja shall be destroyed under the supervision of the Circle officers, and all dust and refuse which accumulate in the course of manufacture, or of cleaning the ganja before dispatch from the chatar, shall be collected daily by the licensed cultivators in the center of the chatar and burned each evening in the presence of the officer in charge.

Destruction of uprooted plants, dust and refuse.

34131A. The Collector shall employ such officers and establishment as the Commissioner may direct for carrying on the work of supervision of the ganja cultivation.

Employment of Staff for supervision of ganja cultivation.

131B. (1) The licensed cultivator shall pay to Government monthly a few in cash equivalent to the monthly cost of officers and establishment employed under Rule 131A within seven days after the expiry of the month to which the fee relates.

(2) The Commissioner shall fix the monthly cost of officers and establishment employed under Rule 131A for supervision of ganja cultivation. In computing the cost of officers and establishment, the average of the pay (including special pay, if any) of officers and establishment, the contribution towards leave salary

Fixation and payment of fees for monthly cost of establishment.

33 Cancelled, vide Notification No. 69-S.R., dated the 8th January, 1918, published in the Calcutta Gazette, dated the 9th January, 1918, Part I, Page 34-37.34 Rules 131A to 131E have been inserted by Notification No. 1185-Ex., dated the 3rd

December, 1954.

and pension and the compensatory allowances shall be included.

131C. The Collector shall also employ such officers and establishment as the Commissioner may direct for carrying in the work of supervision of the ganja manufacturing work in each chatar or manufacturing yard.

Employment of Staff for supervision of ganja manufacturing work.

131D. (1) The licensed cultivator shall pay to Government monthly a fee in cash equivalent to the monthly cost of officers and establishment employed under Rule 131C within seven days after the expiry of the month to whom the fee relates.

(2) The procedure laid down in Rule 131B shall apply mutatis mutandis to fixation and computation of the cost of officers and establishment employed under Rule 131C.

Fixation and payment of fees for monthly cost of establishment.

131E. (1) When ganja plants are cultivated under a license granted under these rules but the license terminates or is terminated due to any cause whatsoever before ganja manufactured from the entire crop is delivered under Rule 131 at the public warehouse, the Collector shall take all necessary steps, subject to Commissioner’s instructions(if any) towards tending, cutting and harvesting the crop, manufacturing ganja therefrom and delivery of ganja so manufactured and storage thereof at the public warehouse.

(2) For the purpose as aforesaid, it shall be lawful for the Collector to direct the transfer of the un-expired portion of the license to the legal representative of the ex-licensee or to the owner of the land or to any other person, if such representative, owner or person is suitable, under such terms, conditions and arrangements as the circumstances may justify.

(3) From the date of termination of the license until the transfer of the unexpired portion of the license, the crop and ganja manufactured therefrom shall be at the disposal of the Collector.

Termination of license and Collector's steps.

132. A licensed cultivator shall be bound to deliver ganja at the public warehouse within the time stated in the pass specified in Rule 130. On delivery of the ganja at the public warehouse the pass, together with the license to cultivate, shall be exchanged for a pass-book in the prescribed form stating the quantity of the ganja, the name of the owner, and the conditions under which the ganja is stored. The pass-book shall be furnished free of charge by the officer in charge and shall be produced by the owner on every occasion on which he deposits ganja. If the pass-book is lost, the owner shall be entitled to receive a fresh pass-book on payment of a fee of fifty paise.

Delivery of ganja at warehouse – Pass-book.

133. (1) The officer in charge of the public warehouse shall be bound to receive the drug whenever it is brought to him at any time

Storage.

during the hours that the public warehouse is open as provided in Rule 135. On receiving it he shall cause it to be at once weighed and stored.

(2) No allowance shall ordinarily be made for wastage or dryage in transit between the chater and the public warehouse, duty at the rate imposed under section 27 of the Act being realized from the licensed cultivator on the deficiency (if any):

Provided that small differences in weight may be adjusted by the Superintendent of Excise.

No allowance for transit wastage.

134. (1) All ganja received from cultivators shall be registered in the cultivator’s ganja deposit register.

(2) The stacking, weighing and all handing of ganja inside the public warehouse shall be done by the regular establishment provided for the purpose by the wholesale vender of ganja and bhang.

Registration and handling.

135. Every morning at sunrise, except on Sundays and gazetted holidays, the officer in charge shall open the public warehouse and shall keep it open until 11 a.m. and again in the afternoon from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. from March to September, and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. from October to February: Provided that the Superintendent of Excise may in exceptional cases relax this rule and permit such business after the office hours or on Sundays and holidays.

Hours of business.

136. (1) The enclosure of the public warehouse shall, except during business hours, be kept locked, the key remaining in the custody of the officer in charge.

(2) Every building within the enclosure which is used for the storage of ganja or bhang shall be under the joint lock of the officer in charge and of the authorized representative of the wholesale vendor of ganja and bhang and shall only be open when both are present. The lock used by the officer in charge shall be a Government lock and the key shall remain in his personal custody.

Locking and custody of keys.

137. No person shall be admitted into the enclosure of the public warehouse between sunset and sunrise without the written authority of the Collector or the Superintendent of Excise.

Admittance into public warehouse.

138. No persons , except the following shall be admitted into the enclosure of the public warehouse at any time without the written permission of the Superintendent of Excise :-

(a) Cultivators of the hemp plant (or their duty authorized agents) and such persons as may accompany them to assist them, when storing their crop.

(b) Licensed vendors of ganja (or their duly authorized agent) when holding a license granted by the Superintendent of Excise, to purchase ganja.

(c) Officers of the Excise Department and superior officers of other Government Departments having business therein. (d) The members of the Managing Committee and the Manager of the wholesale vendor of ganja and bhang.

(e) Authorized employees and servants of the wholesale vendor of ganja and bhang. A register shall be kept of the names of all such persons and they will be supplied with passes for ingress and egress.

(f) Members of the Grading Committee, when engaged in grading ganja.

139. The officer in charge of the public warehouse may eject and exclude from the warehouse enclosure any person whom he shall find to have committed, or to be about to commit, any breach of these rules or of the provisions of the Act, or who shall be intoxicated, riotous or disorderly. All action taken by the officer under this rule shall forthwith be recorded by him in writing in his official diary for the information of his official superior.

Ejection of undesirable persons.

140. The wholesale vendor of ganja and bhang shall be bound by the provisions of the Act, by all rules for the management of the warehouses for ganja or bhang, or for issue of ganja or bhang therefrom, which may be prescribed under the Act from time to time, and by all special orders which may be issued by the Commissioner regarding the public warehouse and shall cause all persona employed by them to obey all such rules.

Wholesale vendor bound by provisions of Act and all rules and special orders.

141. If it comes to the knowledge of any member of the Managing Committee or of the Manager of the wholesale vendor of ganja and bhang that any person employed by the wholesale vendor in the storage, receipt, handling, cleaning, packing or issue of ganja or bhang has committed any breach of the Act, or of the engagement entered into by the wholesale vendor it shall be his duty to report the matter to the officer in charge. The wholesale vendor shall comply with the directions of the officer in charge respecting the continued employment of such person. The officer in charge shall report the matter, together with the action taken by him, through the Superintendent of Excise, to the Collector.

Responsibility for breaches of rules by servants.

35142. (1) All ganja delivered at the public warehouse, except such ganja as is held to be of so bad quality as to be fit only for destruction, shall be sold by the licensed cultivator and purchased by the wholesale vendor of ganja and bhang at rates fixed by the wholesale vendor and approved by the Commissioner

(2) The decision as to the quality of the ganja shall be made in the manner approved by the Commissioner.

(3) All ganja, which is held to be of so bad quality as to be fit only for destruction, shall be kept apart from other ganja and shall be destroyed in the presence of the Superintendent of Excise as

Ganja deposited in the warehouse to be purchased by wholesale vendors.

Grading.

Bad Ganja to be destroyed.

35 Amended by Notification No. 1185-E., dated 3rd December, 1954.

soon as final orders have been passed.

143. Whenever the Manager or other duly authorized officer of the wholesale vendor of ganja or bhang desires to remove ganja for export or transport, he shall hand to the officer in charge of the public warehouse, a requisition showing the name of the district to which ganja is to be exported or transported, the quantity of ganja required and, in the case of export, the name of the purchaser and the number and date of the license to purchase. On receipt of the requisition the officer in charge shall forthwith issue the ganja.

Procedure in case of export or transport of ganja.

144. The rate per kilogram at which ganja intended for export to other States shall be sold, shall be fixed from time to time by the Commissioner. The price shall be calculated on the weight as ascertained at the time of storage under Rule 133, sub-rule (1).

Price of ganja how calculated.

145. Rent shall be levied at the rate of Rs. 3 per quintal on all ganja so sold for export, irrespective of the length of time for which the ganja may have been stored. The rent shall be paid by the purchaser in every case at the time of the removal of the drug.

Levy of rent from purchaser of ganja for export.

146. All ganja shall be thoroughly cleaned under the supervision and to the satisfaction of the officer in charge of the public warehouse, before it is exported or transported.

Ganja to be thoroughly cleaned.

147. (1) The wholesale vendor of ganja and bhang shall be responsible for handling, cleaning and packing all ganja and bhang exported or transported and shall provide all the necessary labour materials, apparatus and appliances.

(2) All assortment, grading, cleaning and packing of ganja or bhang shall be done within the enclosure of the public warehouse.

(3)All refuse resulting from the process of cleaning ganja shall be removed from the warehouse enclosure at the cost of the wholesale vendor of ganja and bhang and shall be destroyed at the cost of the wholesale vendor under the supervision of the officer in charge and in the presence of an officer not below the rank of Sub-Inspector, in such manner as the Collector may from time to time direct.

Wholesale vendor responsible for handling, etc., of ganja and bhang.

Assortment etc., only within warehouse enclosure.

Removal and destruction of refuse.

148. A person holding a pass for the import of ganja into another State, whose original pass has been lost or destroyed after his transactions at the place where the exporting warehouse is situated have been endorsed thereon, may, on payment of a fee of Rs. 2, be granted an authenticated copy of the entries in the ganja office weighment register which will have the force of the original pass.

Procedure on loss of original pass.

149. (1) The officer in charge of the of the public warehouse shall verify the whole of the ganja and bhang in stock by counting the bags at the end of each month, and at the end of June and December in each year shall verify the balance of ganja in stock by weighment. Certificates of such verifications shall be submitted to

Stock taking.

the Collector in the prescribed form within the first week of the following month.

(2) The Superintendent of Excise shall once a quarter verify the whole of the ganja and bhang in stock by weighing the whole of the ganja and bhang stored in one gola in the public warehouse and by counting the bags in the other golas therein. A different gola shall ordinarily be selected for wetghment at each quarterly verification. Certificates of such verification shall be submitted to the Collector.

Storage of ganja and bhang in District Warehouses

150. (1) Where there is a warehouse provided by Government, all ganja and bhang shall be stored therein.

(2) When there is no warehouse provided by Government the wholesale vendor of ganja and bhang shall store ganja and bhang in a private warehouse in a situation convenient of access to Excise Officers and so constructed that any ganja or bhang stored therein shall be perfectly secured against fraud or depredation.

Warehouse in districts.

151. A warehouse shall be under the joint lock and key of the officer in charge thereof and of the authorized representative of the wholesale vendor of ganja and bhang. The lock affixed of the officer in charge shall be supplied by Government and the key shall remain in the personal custody of the officer in charge.

Warehouse to be under joint lock and key of officer in charge and representative of the wholesale vendor.

36152. [Omitted]

153. (1) Immediately on arrival of a consignment of ganja and bhang at a warehouse the Superintendent of Excise, or such other officer as may be authorized by the Collector in this behalf, shall ascertain by personal inspection of the consignment and by weighment that the seals of the bags or chests are not broken and that the gross weight of each bag or chest corresponds with that noted in the pass. He shall open each bag or chest, examine the condition of the ganja or bhang, and ascertain if it has in any way been tampered with.

(2) If the weight should disclose a deficiency in the gross weight of the consignment, the officer conducting the weighment shall weigh the ganja or bhang and the bags or chest separately. He must then re-seal the bags or chests.

(3) If the covering of any bag or chest appears to have been tampered with, or if any bag or chest be received without the original seal, or if the gross weight as ascertained by actual weighment be less than that given in the invoice by one kilogram, the Officer in charge of the warehouse shall examine the ganja or

Receipt, storage and deficiency.

36 Amended (Rule 152 omitted) by Notification No. 961-S.R., dated the 30 th March, 1918, published in the Calcutta Gazette, dated the 3rd April, 1918, Part I, Pages 556-557.The marginal note against Rule 153 and sub-rule (3) of that rule were amended by Notification No. 442-Ex., dated 12th April, 1969.

bhang in such bag or chest with special care and, if there is reason to believe that the bag or chest has been tampered with, shall immediately report the case to the Collector with a view to the institution of proceedings for its confiscation should the Collector so see fit.

37(4) The deficiency, if any, in the weight of ganja or bhang said to have been consigned shall be calculated on the total weight of ganja or bhang in each consignment and not on the weight in each bag or chest, compared with the entries in the pass, unless there is reason to doubt that the consignment or part thereof has been tampered with. When any bag or chest appears to have been tampered with, it shall be separately dealt with and any dust or foreign matter which may appear to have been fraudulently introduced shall be separated from that ganja and bhang before the deficiency is ascertained.

The deficiency ascertained in the above manner be reported forthwith, with all material particulars, to the Collector of the district, where the principal place of business, as determined, where necessary, by the Commissioner, of the wholesale vendor is situated.

(5) If there be any increase of weight the full quantity delivered including such increase, shall be entered in the stock registers.

(6) The wholesale vendor of ganja and bhang shall pay duty imposed under section 27 of the Act or pass fee imposed under section 38 of the Act, as the case may be, on-

(a) the whole of the deficiency in the weight of ganja or bhang, when such deficiency is due to the consignment or part thereof having been tampered with; and

(b) otherwise, so much of the deficiency as is in excess of 0.5 per cent. of the weight of ganja or bhang said to have been consigned.

Provided that all cases of deficiency whether under clause (I) or clause (b), occurring during a quarter shall be reported, by the Collector of the district, where the principal place of business of the wholesale vendor is situated, to the Commissioner for orders, and the Commissioner may, in his discretion and on good cause being shown, remit the duty or pass fee leviable on the deficiency in full or in part.

Duty or pass fee on the deficiency, when levied, shall be realized by the Collector of the district, where the principal place of business of the wholesale vendor is situated.38154. (1) An account shall be taken by the Collector, Sub- Annual stock-

taking.37 Substituted by Notification No. 442-Ex., dated 12th April, 1969 read with Corrigendum No. 1215-Ex., dated 20th August, 1969.

divisional Officer, Superintendent of Excise or any other Gazetted Officer deputed for the purpose, of the stock of ganja or bhang in each warehouse at or towards the end of each quarter.

(2) All the chests or bags shall be opened and the ganja and bhang taken out. The ganja and bhang shall then be classified as fit for use and unfit for use in accordance with the instructions issued by the Commissioner under Rule 229 off these rules and their weight recorded separately. The quantities of ganja and bhang fit for use shall be replaced in chests or bags and the quantities, if any, classified as unfit fir use shall also be replaced in chests or bags which will be labeled accordingly and segregated, unless the Commissioner has by orders in writing sanctioned their destruction. The refuse ganja and bhang, if any, that has accumulated till the time of the stock taking shall be weighed separately and destroyed in the presence of the officer taking the stock, along with the ganja and bhang, if any, classified as unfit for use and sanctioned for destruction by the Commissioner, no compensation being claimable by the whole-sale vendor of ganja and bhang. The officer taking the stock, in whose presence the ganja or bhang unfit for use and the refuse, if any, are destroyed shall record a certificate to that effect in the appropriate registers and incorporate the result of the stock-taking in the form prescribed in that behalf.

39(3) The wholesale vendor of ganja and bhang shall be responsible for deficiency in excess of the allowance for wastage to be made at the rate given below, and duty imposed under section 27 of the Act or pass fee imposed under section 38 of the Act, shall be realized on such deficiency at the end of a financial year. Ganja or bhang transported to another warehouse within one month of the date in which it was stored shall be excluded when calculating the allowance for wastage to be made in the warehouse from which such ganja or bhang was transported :-

40Annual issues in a warehouse Rate of allowance for wastage37.0 Kg. To 746.0 Kg. -- -- 2.00 per cent.Over 746.0 Kg. to 1866.0 Kg. -- -- 1.50 per cent.Over 1866.0 Kg. to 5598.0 Kg. -- -- 1.00 per cent.Over 5598.0 Kg. -- -- 0.50 per cent.

DISPOSAL OF INTOXICANTS ON EXPIRY OF A LICENSE155. (1) A person who has been a licensed vendor may, on the expiration of his license, with the sanction of the collector , sale wholesale to another licensed vendor any intoxicant which he is authorized under the conditions of his license to sell and of which he has been lawfully in position.

Provided that the intoxicant is fit for use and, in the case of

Sale by one vendor to another vendor.

38 Sub-rule (1) and (2) substituted by Notification No. 178-Ex., dated 10th February, 1965.39 Amended by Notification No. 442-Ex., dated 12th April, 1969.40 Amended by Notification No. 185-A.I., dated the 28th September 1935, published in the Calcutta Gazette, dated the 24th October, 1935, Part I page 1940. Quantities in Kg. substituted for quantities in maunds by Notification No. 357-Ex., dated the 22nd March, 1962.

country spirit, that it is within the limits of strength fixed for retail sale.

(2) If he is unable to dispose of them in this manner he shall, on requisition of the Collector the same to such officer as the Collector may appoint in this behalf, and the person to whom a new license has been granted in the stead of the said licensed vendor, if no such new license has been granted, then any licensed vendor of the intoxicant within the district shall, on the requisition of the Collector, be bound under penalty, if the Collector sees fit, of forfeiting his license, to buy the said intoxicant at such price as the Collector mat adjudge, and in any quantity not exceeding that which the Collector may determine to be ordinarily saleable by him in fourteen days.

Provided that, if the Collector considers that the intoxicant or any part thereof is unfit for use or has otherwise deteriorated so as to be unsaleable he shall cause the same to be destroyed without any compensation being claimable by the for licensed vendor.

Fees is respect of licenses, permits or passes granted under the ActNote :- These fees other than those dealt with in the following rules are reproduced in Appendix 2.41156. The fees for the licenses for the retail vend of intoxicants, mentioned in column 1 below in he area mentioned against them in the corresponding entry in column2, shall be fixed by auction, subject to a reserved fee being previously sanctioned in each case by the Commissioner, and a fee shall be final only when it is confirmed by the latter officer.

Licenses of which fees are to be fixed by auction.

Kind of Intoxicant Area1 2

Pachwai -- -- Areas other than those where the retail price of pachwai is fixed from time to time by the State Government.

Fermented Tari -- Areas other than those which are specified from time to time by the State Government under section 14 of the Act.

Provided that the Collector –(a) Shall not be bound to accept the highest or any bid,(b) May exclude persons who-

(i) have been convicted of a non-bailable offence, or

(ii) are in areas to Government, or(iii) have been found guilty of any serious breach of conditions of licenses held by them, or(iv) are reasonably suspected of having resorted to

illicit practices.(c) may refuse any bid deemed to be reckless or purely (d) may settle any such license without action, for reasons to be

41 Substituted by Notification No. 691-Ex., dated 2nd June, 1971.

recorded in writing, at a fee approved by him and confirmed by the Commissioner.42157. The fees for a license, settled under rule 156, shall-(a) be fixed, for the purpose of their realization, on fees, the basis of a calendar month, subject to the liability of the license to pay the fees for the whole of the period for which the license is settled, and (b) be paid as follows :

Two months’ fees in advance and one month’s fees on the date on which the currency of the license begins, and one month’s fees within the first fifteen days of every succeeding month until the total fees due for the license have been realized :

Provided that the Collector may grant, with the previous approval of the Commissioner, special instalments for payment of fees in respect of licenses for the retail vend of fermented tari.

Manner of realising license fees.

158. [Omitted by Notification No. 691-Ex., dated 2nd June, 1971.]

159 to 166. [Omitted by Notification No. 1382-Ex., dated the 21st

December 1936, published in the Calcutta Gazette, dated the 24 th

December, 1936, Part I, page 2860.]Note : These rules dealt with fees, in respect of licenses for the sale of foreign liquor, which are now dealt with in the Bengal Excise Foreign Liquor License Fee, Rules, 1942]

167. [Deleted by Notification No. 146 F.T., dated the 21st January, 1949, amending the Bengal Excise (Foreign Liquor License Fee) Rules, 1942.

168. [Omitted by Notification No. 675-Ex., dated 23rd May, 1969. The rule deal with fees, payable in respect of canteen tenant license, which are now dealt with in the Bengal Excise (Foreign Liquor License Fee) Rules, 1942.]

169 – 171. [Omitted by Notification No. 1382-Ex., dated the 21st

December, 1936, published in the Calcutta Gazette, dated the 24 th

December, 1936, Part I, page 2860.]

172. [Omitted by Notification No. 8742-Ex., dated the 10 th April, 1937, published in the Calcutta Gazette, dated the 22nd April, 1937, Part I.]

173. (Superseded by Notification No. 868-ex., dated the 8 th

September, 1953.]

174. [Omitted by Notification No. 528-Ex., dated the 28th March, 1970. The rule dealt with fees, payable in respect of a license to work a brewery, which are now dealt with in the Bengal Excise (Foreign Liquor License Fee) Rules, 1942.],

42 Substituted by Notification No. 691-Ex., dated 2nd June, 1971.

175. [Superseded by Notification No. 9184-Ex., dated the 11th

September, 1942.]

176. The fee for a license for the retail sale of rectified spirit for medicinal, industrial or scientific purposes shall be Rs. 50 per annum, and shall be paid in advance.

Rectified spirit.

43177. (1) The holder of a license for the wholesale sale of denatured spirit hall pay in advance an annual fee on the basis of sales during the previous twelve months at the rates mentioned ion the following table :-

TableRs.

(i) For sale not exceeding 9090 bulk litres -- 25(ii) For sales exceeding 9090 bulk litres but not

exceeding 22730 bulk litres -- 50(iii) For sales exceeding 22730 bulk litres but not

exceeding 45460 bulk litres -- 75(iv) For sales exceeding 45460 bulk litres but not

exceeding 90920 bulk litres -- 100(v) For sales exceeding 90920 bulk litres but not

exceeding 227300 bulk litres -- 125(vi) For sales exceeding 227300 bulk litres but not

exceeding 454600 bulk litres -- 150(vii) For sales exceeding 454600 bulk litres but not

exceeding 909200 bulk litres -- 175(viii) For sales exceeding 909200 bulk litres -- 200

(2) The holder of a license for the retail sale of denatured spirit shall pay in advance an annual fee on the basis of sales during the previous twelve months at the rates mentioned in the following table :-

TableRs.

(i) For sale not exceeding 2270 bulk litres -- 5(ii) For sales exceeding 2270 bulk litres but not

exceeding 4550 bulk litres -- 10(iii) The fee shall be increased by Rs. 10 for sales

of every 4550 bulk litres or a fraction thereof in excess of 4550 bulk litres

Denatured spirit.

44177A. The holder of a license for the possession of denatured spirit for the purpose of supply outside India shall pay in advance an annual fee of Rs. 100 and shall pay, in addition to the annual fee, a fee at the following rate on each day on which

43 Vide Notification No. 9174-Ex., dated the 11th September, 1942, with effect from the 1st

April, 1943 published on page 2217 of the Calcutta Gazette, Part I, dated the 17th September, 1942. Quantities in bulk litres substituted for quantities in bilk gallons by Notification No. 357-Ex., dated the 22nd March, 1962.44 Inserted by Notification No. 509-Ex., dated the 3rd June, 1958.

transactions in denatured spirit at his licensed premises are carried on for the said purpose under the supervision of an excise officer, namely :-

Rs.Half day of four hours or less -- -- -- 10Full day of more than four hours but lessthan eight hours -- -- -- 20

Such additional fee shall be payable in advance on the commencement of the transactions in question on each day to which such fee relates.

178. [Superseded by Notification No. 9184-Ex., dated the 11th

September, 1942.]

Other licenses179. [Omitted by Notification No. 691-Ex., dated 2nd June, 1971.]180 and 181. [Deleted by Notification No. 411-F.T., dated the 21st

February, 1952.]45181A. Licenses may be granted to Chinese families in Calcutta and 24-Parganas district for the home-brewing of "wanchu" up to such limit as the Collector may consider reasonable to meet the requirements of special occasions, such as childbirth, etc., at the rate of Rs. 2 for each house-hold for each occasion.

License for the home-brewing of "Wanchu"

181B. [Deleted by Notification No. 411-F.T., dated the 21st

February, 1952.]

182. [Omitted by Notification No. 691-Ex., dated 2nd June, 1971.]

183 and 184. [Deleted by Notification No. 16229-Ex., dated the 18th

Decmber, 1946, published in the Calcutta Gazette, dated the 23rd

January, 1947, Part I, page 136.]

185. [Omitted by Notification No. 25-Ex., dated the 7th January, 1937, published in the Calcutta Gazette, dated the 14 th January, 1937, Part I.]

186. [Omitted by Notification No. 2715-Ex., dated the 4th

February, 1938, published in the Calcutta Gazette, dated the 10 th

February, 1938, Part I, page 310.]

187. The fee for temporary licenses for the vend of intoxicants at fairs shall be fixed by auction, and shall be paid in advance.

Fair license.

188. All payments of license fees shall be made by the licensees into the local treasuries either by direct payment or by postal money-order, without the intervention of Excise Officers, except in the case of fees for pachwai home-brewing licenses and for

Manner of payment of license fees.

45 Vide Notification No. 444-Ex., dated the 27th January, 1923, published on page 136, Part I of the Calcutta Gazette of the 31st idem.

unfermented tari licenses, the payment of which shall be regulated according to rules specially framed by the Commissioner.

Mixing of any noxious or objectionable substance with liquor

189. Licensed vendors of foreign liquor, country spirit, tari or pachwai are prohibited from mixing therewith any article intended or likely to increase the intoxicating power of the liquor or to increase thirst, such as bhang, tobacco, pepper or kerosene oil, or any noxious substance such as kuchila, aconite, arsenic or dhutura.46189A. A licensed manufacturer and vendor of tari shall not mix flour or sugar with such tari.

Reduction of Strength of Country Spirit and foreign liquor by licensed vendors.

190. (1) Unless specially permitted by the Commissioner in the case of any particular strength, or in any particular area, the strength of country-spirit issued from a distillery or an excise warehouse at a strength prescribed by the State Government shall not be reduced by a licensed vendor from such strength to a lower strength by the addition of water or by mixing with spirit of a lower strength, or by any other means whatsoever.

(2) No licensed wholesale or retail vendor of potable foreign liquor shall reduce the strength of such liquor whether by the addition of water, or by mixing with liquor of a lower strength, or by any other means whatsoever, unless he holds a special license authorizing him to do so.

Provided that this prohibition shall not extend to the admixture of beer or spirits, as the case may be, of different strength by a licensed brewer or distiller in so far as such admixture is permitted by the rules made for the regulation of breweries or distilleries.

(3) No licensed wholesale or retail vendor of denatured spirits shall reduce the strength of such spirits, whether by the addition of water, or by mixing with spirits of a lower strength, or by any other means whatsoever.

Arrangements of premises and signboards for vend of intoxicants.

191. Premises (except hotels, restaurants, dak-bungalows, tourist lodges and railway refreshment-rooms), licensed in towns for the vend of foreign liquor or country spirit for consumption on the premises, shall have all doors for admission of the public opening

Arrangement of premises.

46 Vide Notification No. 9084-Ex., dated the 9th September, 1942, published on page 2217, Part I of the Calcutta Gazette, dated the 9th September, 1942.

only on to a public road. Such premises must be so constructed that the interior thereof, where sales are effected, may be visible from the doorway. Private rooms for the sale of such liquors or spirit, where such are specially permitted by the Collector, must also be visible from the doorway.47192. Except in the case of hotels, restaurants, dak-bungalows, tourists lodges, railway refreshment-rooms, dining-cars and steamers, and the premises for chemists or druggists holding excise licenses or permits, there shall be fixed in a prominent position at the entrance of all the premises licensed for the retail vend of any intoxicant, a signboard showing in large characters the intoxicant sold therein, the number of license, the period of currency of the license, and in the case of country spirit shops the strengths, if any, prescribed for retail vend and the minimum and maximum retail prices, if any, fixed for each strength. 48In Calcutta, however, the name of foreign liquor licenses must be shown in the signboards.

Signboards.

Employment of persons by excise licensees for conducting sale or for other purposes.

193. No licensed manufacturer or licensed vendor of an intoxicant shall employ or permit to be employed on his licensed premises any person who has been convicted of a non-bailable offence or of an offence under the Excise or Opium Laws, except with the permission of the Collector, which shall not be granted unless the Collector is satisfied that the offence was not such as to indicate any serious defect of character.

Prohibition of employment of persons convicted of certain offences.

49194. No licensee for the retail vend of any intoxicant other than – (1) the licensee of a hotel, restaurant, bar, dak-bungalow, tourist lodge, railway refreshment-room, steamer or dining-car, or (2) a chemist or druggist holding a license or permit under the Act – shall allow any person to conduct sales in his licensed premises unless the name of such person shall have been previously submitted to the Collector or to the Superintendent of Excise for approval and endorsement by him on the license.

Names of salesmen to be endorsed on license before employment.

195. No licensee for the wholesale or retail vend of an intoxicant shall employ any person suffering from any infection or contagious disease for any purpose in the licensed premises.

Person suffering from infectious or contagious disease may not be employed.

Prohibition of sales except for cash50196. No holder of a license for the retail sale of country liquor, Country liquor,

ganja or bhang not 47 The words "tourist lodges" inserted by Notification No. 1519-Ex., dated 11th December, 1968.48 Vide Notification No. 65-Ex., dated the 23rd January, 1934, published on page 179, Part I of the Calcutta Gazette of the 1st February, 1934.49 The words "tourist lodges" inserted by Notification No. 1519-Ex., dated 11th December, 1968.50 Substituted by Notification No. 1487-Ex., dated 4th December, 1968.

ganja or bhang shall under such license, sell such liquor, ganja or bhang on credit, or receive any pledge for payment of the price thereof or accept anything except money in exchange therefor.

to be sold by retail on credit.

Hours during which licensed premises may be kept open and closing of such premises on special occasions.

197 to 202. [Suspended by later Notification]Note :- The power to make rules prescribing the days and hours during which any licensed premises may or may not be kept open was delegated to the Excise Commissioner originally by the notification No. 354T.Ex., dated 12th October, 1936 and thereafter by an amendment of paragraph 14 of the orders published with notification No. 596 S.R. dated 30th March, 1915. The relevant rules are printed in Appendix 3.

Closure of licensed premises on approach of troops or on occurrence of riot.

51203. Premises licensed for the sale of country liquor and foreign liquor (except hotels, restaurants, dak-bungalows and tourist lodges) which are on the line of march of troops shall be closed on the requisition of the officer in command during the passage of troops.

Provided that when the Collector considers it necessary, so to do, he may direct the stoppage of sale of liquor also in hotels, restaurants, dak-bungalows and tourist lodges.

204. All licensees shall close their premises on the occurrence of a riot or disturbance in the neighbourhood.

Accounts to be maintained by licensees52205. (1) Unless the Commissioner otherwise directs in any particular case or class of cases, regular and accurate accounts shall be maintained in such form and, if the Commissioner so requires, return shall be submitted in such form and to such authorities as the Commissioner may prescribe from time to time, by all persons including manufacturing chemists who hold licenses for the manufacture or vend or use of any intoxicant or who obtain or use any intoxicant under a license or permit granted under any law for the time being in force, except by persons who hold licenses for (a) the home-brewing of pachwai and (b) the sale of pachwai when licenses for the sale thereof are settled by auction and fees i9n respect thereof are less than Rs. 2.00 per annum.

Provided that if any special form is prescribed by the Commissioner for transactions appertaining to any particular class 51

52 Sub-rule (1) and (2) substituted by Notification No. 730-Ex., dated the 18 th May, 1995 and sub-rule (3) inserted by Notification No. 2262-S.R., dated the 22nd August, 1918, published on page 1222, Part I, of the Calcutta Gazette of the 28th idem.

of license or permit, accounts shall be maintained in such form.

(2) The accounts shall be written up as soon as the transactions for each day have been closed and attested by the persons holding licenses or permits referred to in sub-rule (1) or their authorized representatives.

(3) The account shall be prescribed for one year after the period covered by the license and shall be produced when called for by an officer not below the rank of a Sub-Inspector.

206. Every person who is required by the last preceding rule to keep accounts shall when required by an Excise Officer of or above the rank of Sub-Inspector, assist him by a sufficient number of servants in taking account of his stock.

Licensee to assist in stock-taking.

TRANSFER OF LICENSES

207. No transfer or sub-lease (whether entire or partial) of a license shall be made except with the previous permission of the collector and the approval of the Commissioner. The Collector, shall not allow such transfer, or sub-lease, unless good and sufficient reason be shown to his satisfaction, and unless the transferee or sub-lease is, in his opinion, fit and qualified to hold such license.

Permission required for transfer or sub-lease.

208. The names of partners (if any) shall be disclosed at the time of settlement, and it shall be opened to the Collector to refuse to settle a shop with a number of partners. The admission of any person to partnership after settlement shall be deemed to be a partial transfer and shall not be made except under the provisions of Rule 207.

Partner in business to be named.

209. On the death of a licensee, the Collector may renew the license on the same terms in favour of a representative of the deceased, if he be satisfied that such representative is fit to hold it, and on the condition that any arrears due from the deceased licensee are recovered before the license is so renewed. In such case no fresh deposit need be called for.

Transfer of license on death of licensee.

FURTHER RESTRICTIONS UNDER WHICH AND CONDITIONSAND CONDITIONS ON WHICH LICENSES, PERMITS AND PASSES ARE GRANTED.

210. The holder of a license, permit of pass shall be bound by the conditions thereof, and on the expiry of a license, permit or pass the holder thereof shall return the same to the officer who granted it, or, if the conditions thereof provides for its disposal in some other manner, shall dispose-of it in accordance with such conditions.

Return of time-expired licenses, etc.

53211. (1) Save as provided in sub-rule (2) and (3), the holder of a license for the sale of an intoxicant shall not sale the intoxicant at any place other than on the premises specified in that behalf in his license.

(2) The Collector may by a general or special order permit at his discretion the holder of a restaurant license to supply liquor with food outside his licensed premises in private functions to a gathering of not less than a dozen persons. Such licensee shall prior to each such function obtain a written order from the person organizing the function showing his name and address and the place of function, and shall retain such order in his licensed premises and produce the same on demand by an officer of the Excise Department authorized under section 66 of the Act.

(3) The holder of a license for the sale of foreign liquor to the public for consumption “off” the premises or to the trade may supply such liquor to a customer at any place other than his licensed premises if-

(a) a written order for supply of such liquor has been received by such licensee, or

(b) in the case of verbal or telephonic order, such order has been reduced into writing by such licensee in an order register to be maintained by him, and

(c) the order shows the name and address of the person for whom the order is placed, the description and quantity of liquor ordered and the date and time of receipt of such order.

On receipt of an order referred to in this sub-rule the licensee therein mentioned may deliver such liquor to a customer out of his licensed premises, provided that –

(i) the supply of such liquor is made either by himself or by his agent previously approved by the Collector, and

(ii) such liquor is covered by a chalan or bill specifying the name and address of the customer, the description and quantity of the liquor dispatched, the rice, if paid, or the fact that the supply is on credit, and the time and date of dispatch of such liquor.

(4) Foreign liquor shall not be supplied to a customer under sub-rule (3) unless the accompanying chalan or bill mentioned in proviso (ii) to that sub-rule is signed by such customer or his representative specifying the time of receipt of the liquor and the price, if any, paid by him as an acknowledgement of receipt of such

Sale allowed on licensed premises only.

53 Vide Notification No. 8149-Ex., dated the 8th August, 1942, published on page 1955-1996 of Part I, of the Calcutta Gazette, dated the 13th August, 1942.

liquor.

212. No licensee shall willfully adulterate or add anything to cause the deterioration of any intoxicant sold or kept for sale by him. He shall not sell any intoxicant which he knows to have been adulterated or to have deteriorated, and shall not store such intoxicant or permit such intoxicant to be stored on his premises.

Adulteration and storage or sale of adulterated articles.

54213. (1) Every licensee shall keep his licensed premises open during the prescribed hours, throughout the currency of his license, unless their temporary or permanent closure is authorized and, when so required by the Commissioner, shall keep them closed in such manner as the Commissioner may direct during hours other than the prescribed hours.

(2) In regard to licensed premises where any liquor is sold for consumption on such premises, it will be open to the Commissioner to prescribe, either generally for all such premises or for any class of them, and either throughout West Bengal or in any specific local area the hour within which liquor sold during the hours prescribed for sale of liquor on such premises shall be consumed and no person shall, after such hour, be allowed or suffered to possess any quantity of liquor so sold on such premises.

Licensed premises to be kept open during prescribed hours and closed in such manner as may be prescribed during other hours.

213A. Every licensee shall, in respect of any article which he is licensed to sell, meet the demand of every customer entitled to be served who tenders payment for what is required by him, and he shall maintain such supply of all articles in which he is licensed to deal as the Superintendent of Excise may consider sufficient to meet local requirements. Where country spirit is issued at more than one strength a stock of the weaker strength shall invariably be maintained.

Adequate stock to be maintained.

55213B. Foreign liquor sold for consumption on any licensed premises including licensed hotels, restaurants, dak-bungalows, tourist lodges, dining cars, steamers, and bars attached to hotels, restaurants, theatres, cinemas or other places of public resort or entertainment shall not be removed nor allowed to be removed therefrom by any person.

Foreign liquor sold for consumption not to be removed from Licensed premises.

214. Subject to the provisions of Rule 224, the holder of a license shall have no legal claim against Government for compensation for any loss alleged to be due to a change during the currency of his license in the conditions thereof, in the rate at which duty is charged on any excisable article, or in any other matter connected with the Excise administration.

Licensee has no legal claim for compensation for Alleged loss.

215A. Any transaction of the nature of gift or loan between the Gift or loan between

54 Rules 213 and 213A, as inserted by Notification No. 215-Ex., dated 10 th March, 1953 substituted by rules 213, 213A and 213B by Notification No. 1487-Ex., dated 4th December, 1968. 55 Rules 213 and 213A, as inserted by Notification No. 215-Ex., dated 10 th March, 1953 substituted by rules 213, 213A and 213B by Notification No. 1487-Ex., dated 4th December, 1968.

holder of a license, permit or pass and an offer of the Excise Department is absolutely prohibited.

licensee and Excise officer prohibited.

56215B. Any offering of a bribe either in money or in kind or any other way by the holder of a license to an officer of the Excise Department will render the license liable to suspension or cancellation.

57216. No licensed retail vendor of foreign liquor or country liquor shall hold any professional entertainment or dance on or near he licensed premises or permit the playing of music, vocal or instrumental, on such premises without the special sanction of the Collector in writing :

Provided that in the areas where the Calcutta Police Act, 1866 (Ben. Act IV of 1866), or the Calcutta Suburban Police Act, 1866 (Ben. Act II of 1866), applies, professional entertainment or dance may be held and music, both vocal and instrumental, may be played in or near any licensed hotel, restaurant or bar attached to a hotel or restaurant without the special sanction of the Collector, as aforesaid, but subject to the provisions of any law for the time being in force.

Restriction on entertainment, dance, music in premises for retail sale of foreign liquor or country liquor.

217. No licensed retail vendor of foreign or country liquor shall possess on his licensed premises any quantity of kuchila, aconite, arsenic or dhutura.

Possession of Kuchila etc., in premises of licensed retail vendor of foreign liquor or country liquor prohibited.

217A to 217D. [Superseded by notification No. 411-F.T., dated the 21st February, 1952 ]

218. Except in the Calcutta district , the holder of a license for the vend of foreign liquor shall report to the Collector the arrival of a consignment of such liquor within seven days of its receipt and at least 48 hours before it is opened, stating the description and quantity of such liquor received.

Report of arrival of consignment of foreign liquor.

58218A. Unless the Collector with the previous approval of the Commissioner otherwise directs, no holder of a license for the sale of foreign liquor shall receive, store or have in his possession any quantity of foreign liquor except under a valid Excise pass issued by a competent authority, and the quantity entered in such a pass shall, in any particular case, be taken as the quantity received for the purpose of maintenance of accounts as mentioned in Rule

56 Inserted by Notification No. 3115-Ex., dated the 13 th August, 1923, published on page 1177, Part I of the Calcutta Gazette of the 15th idem.57 Substituted by Notification No. 766-Ex., dated 22nd June, 1971.58 Inserted by Notification No. 2418-F.T., dated the 6th November, 1950.

2005 and assessment of license fees.

59218B. No holder of a license for the sale of foreign liquor for consumption of any licensed premises shall allow or suffer any person to consume on any part of the licensed premises except a dak bungalow, a tourist lodge, a railway refreshment room or a room in a hotel, occupied by a bonafide lodger in the hotel, any liquor which does not form a part of the stock held under the license and has not been sold therefrom, unless a permit has been applied for and obtained from the Excise Commissioner in that behalf. The Excise Commissioner may, in his discretion and subject to such terms and conditions as the State Government may prescribe, and subject to the payment of a fee of ten rupees only, issue a permit authorizing a person to serve liquor lawfully possessed by him to his guests for consumption on the licensed premises.

Service of foreign liquor other than that held under license on licensed premises.

60219. The holder of a license for the retail sale of foreign liquor for consumption off the premises shall not sell such liquor except in sealed and capsuled bottles, having their seals and capsules intact and shall not alter either the nature of the liquor or the labels under which he purchased it :

Provided that bottles opened by a competent Excise Officer for purposes of test may, if resealed by such Excise Officer, be sold by the holder of the license.

Sale of foreign liquor by “of” licensee to be only in sealed and capsuled bottles.

220. [Omitted by notification No. 619-Ex., dated 2nd June 1971.]61221. No licensed retail vendor of country spirit shall, keep in his shop any measure other than the measures prescribed by the Commissioner under section 24 of the Act.

Use of prescribed measures.

62222. [Omitted]62223. [Omitted]63223A. Except when exempted by the Commissioner of Excise or the Collector, every licensee shall be present in his shop during such hours of the day as may be prescribed in that behalf by the Superintendent of Excise with the approval of the Collector. Leave of absence for a period not exceeding one month may, however, be granted by the Superintendent of Excise.

59 Inserted by Notification No. 940-Ex., dated 13th July, 1967. Subsequently the words “a tourist lodge” were inserted by Notification No. 1519-Ex., dated 11th December 1968.60 Amended by Notification No. 357-Ex., dated the 22nd March, 1962.61 Amended by Notification No. 691-Ex., dated the 2nd June, 1971.62 Vide Notification No. 2715-Ex., dated the 4th February, 1938, published on page 310, Part I of the Calcutta Gazette of the 10th idem.63 Inserted by Notification No. 663-Ex., dated the 9th February, 1923, published on page 215, Part I of the Calcutta Gazette of the 14th idem.

PAYMENT OF COMPENSATION FOR CLOSURE OF SHOPS

224. When any shop for the vend of any intoxicant is closed, under section 26 of the Act, for the preservation of public peace, or under Rule 203 on account of the march of troops, compensation for such closure may be paid in cash to the licensee, as stated below :-

(1) The compensation will be paid by the Collector with the previous sanction of the Commissioner.

(2) No compensation shall be paid when a shop remains closed for less than six hours. Closure for six hours or more shall be held to be a closure for the whole day.

(3) When a shop, licensed for the vend of an intoxicant upon which no duty is imposed under section 27 of the Act, is closed the compensation shall be calculated on the monthly fee payable for the license, and shall be a sum equivalent to the amount payable for the days during which the shop remains closed plus 10 percent of that amount for loss of profits.

(4) When a shop licensed for the vend of an intoxicant upon which duty is imposed under section 27 of the Act or under the Indian Tariff Act, 1894, is closed, the Collector shall calculate the average daily sale in the shop, based on the sales during the previous months of the year and the profit of the vendor on such daily sales after deducting from the average total sale-proceeds the amount of the average daily license fees, the duty, the cost price and contingent expenses at 6¼ per cent of the sale-proceeds. Compensation shall then be granted at the rate of such daily profit for the number of days during which the shop remains closed.

TIME, PLACE AND MANNER OF PAYMENT OF DUTY

225. The duty imposed on—

(i) Foreign liquor and country spirit—(b) imported under bond, or(c) manufactured in a distillery

and stored in a distillery or excise warehouse.

(ii) Ganja—manufactured in West Bengal or imported under bond and stored in an excise warehouse,

Duty to be paid before removal unless bond executed.

(iii) Bhang---imported under bond and stored n an excise warehouse,

shall be paid before removal from the distillery or excise warehouse unless a bond has been executed for such payment.64226. [Omitted]

227. [Obsolete—not printed]

228. When the duty on an excisable article is to be paid before removal from a distillery or excise warehouse, the payment must be made into the local treasury, or a treasury approved by the Collector of the District in which such article is to be sold or consumed, either by direct payment or by money order. Advance deposits on account of duty may also be made with the permission of the Collector.

Place and manner of payment of duty.

DESTRUCTION OF INTOXICANTS DEEMED TO BE UNFIT FOR USE.

65229. (1) Ganja and bhang, stored in a warehouse may be condemned as unfit for use only in accordance with instructions issued from time to time by the Commissioner and such ganja or bhang as has been so condemned may be destroyed either at the time of stock taking as provided in sub-rule (1) of rule 154 or at any other time according as the Commissioner directs. No ganja or bhang shall be destroyed except in the presence of a gazetted officer who shall immediately upon such destruction record a certificate to that effect in the appropriate registers.

(2) Ganja or Bhang held at the public warehouse and condemned by the Commissioner as unfit for use and sanctioned by him for destruction shall be destroyed in he presence of the Superintendent of Excise who shall immediately upon such destruction record a certificate to that effect in the appropriate registers.

(3) The ganja and bhang condemned as unfit for use and sanctioned for destruction and all refuse ganja and bhang shall be destroyed at all warehouses at the cost of the wholesale vendor and no compensation shall be claimable by him.

Destruction of ganja or bhang to warehouse.

230. It spirit manufactured in a distillery or stored in a warehouse is found to be of inferior quality or otherwise unsuitable for the purpose for which it was made or stored, it may be rejected and destroyed, or otherwise dealt with under the orders of the Commissioner.

Disposal of unsuitable spirit in distillery or warehouse.

64 Vide Notification No. 2715-Ex., dated the 4th February, 1938, published on page 310, Part I of the Calcutta Gazette of the 10th idem.65 Substituted by Notification No. 178-Ex., dated the 10th February, 1965.

Officers in charge of distilleries and warehouses are empowered to stop, pending the orders of the Commissioner, the issue of spirits, which they consider bad or unsuitable, and are required to send samples of such spirit for analysis without delay.

231. Any intoxicant kept on the premises of a vendor licensed to sell such intoxicant and found after necessary examination to be unfit for human consumption may be destroyed under orders of the Collector.

Destruction of intoxicant unfit for use on vendors’ premises.

DISPOSAL OF THINGS CONFISCATED UNDER THE ACT.

232. When in any case a Magistrate orders the confiscation of anything under section 64 of the Act, such thing shall be made over to the Collector or Sub-divisional Officer for disposal.

Magistrate to make confiscated article over to Collector or Sub-divisional Officer.

233. The disposal of things confiscated by order of a Magistrate or of a Collector shall be regulated as stated in the following rules.

234. The sale or other disposal of things confiscated under the Act shall be deferred till the period of appeal against the order of confiscation has expired, or if an appeal be made against such order till the appeal is disposed of :

Provided as follows—

(1) the sale of any animal or other thing ordered to be confiscated shall not be so deferred unless the owner or his agent deposit with the Collector or Sub-divisional Officer, as the case may be, such sum as that officer may consider to be required and to be sufficient for the keep or safe custody of such animal or other thing pending the result of such appeal, and

(2) if the thing be of a perishable nature it may be sold immediately.

Disposal of things confiscated to be deferred till period of appeal has expired except in certain cases.

235. (1) If any order of confiscation of any thing be reversed on appeal, such thing, or the sale-proceeds thereof, and the amount, if any , deposited for the keep or safe custody of such thing shall be at once returned to the owner thereof, or his agent, under the order of the Collector or Sub-Divisional Officer, as the case may be.

(2) If no one appears to receive the thing confiscated, the sale proceeds or the amount, if any, deposited within two months from the order on appeal, such thing, sale-proceeds or amount shall be forfeited to the Government.

Disposal of things confiscated when order is reversed.

236. Confiscated tari, pachwai and bakhar shall be destroyed, unless in any particular case the Collector decides, with the approval of the Commissioner, to sell all or any of them by auction.

Disposal of confiscated tari, pachwai and bakhar.

237. Confiscated foreign liquor or country spirit , which are known to have been of licit origin and not tempered with, shall be sold by auction subject to a reserved price which shall be equal to the amount of duty leviable on the article or a similar article in the place in which the sale takes place. If such price is not obtained, the article shall be destroyed.

Disposal of confiscated foreign liquor and country spirit.

237A. Confiscated charas shall be destroyed. Other confiscated foreign liquor and country spirit shall be destroyed.

237B. Confiscated ganja and bhang shall be either destroyed or sold at such price as may be fixed by the Excise Commissioner with the approval of the State Government to a person or persons holding license under this Act for the sale of such article, subject to realization of duty leviable under chapter V of the Act on the article in the place in which the sale takes place.

Disposal of confiscated ganja and bhang.

238. [Omitted]

239. Confiscated intoxicants other than those mentioned in the foregoing rules shall, subject to the provisions of rule 240, be sold by auction.

Disposal of other confiscated intoxicants.

240. When the highest bidder for any confiscated intoxicant liable to be sold by auction is not a licensed vendor of such intoxicant, and the quantity thereof is more than the quantity fixed as the limit of a retail sale under section 5 of the Act, the Collector or Sub-divisional Officer, as the case may be, may in his discretion grant to such person a permit under section 19 of the Act to possess but not to sell, the article, or may refuse to accept the bid and may accept another bid or may order the article to be destroyed.

Permit for possession of confiscated articles in excess of limit of retail sale.

241. When the article confiscated is not an intoxicant, it shall be disposed of as follows:--

(i) When such article in the opinion of the Collector does not exceed Rs. 1,000 in value, it may be sold by the Collector to the highest bidder or in his discretion released on payment of such sum as he may think fit or, with the sanction of the Commissioner, retained for the use of the Excise Department.

(ii) When such article, in the opinion of the collector, exceeds Rs. 1,000 in value, it shall be disposed of at the discretion of the Commissioner who may in special case refer the matter to the State Government for orders.

Disposal of things confiscated other than excisable articles.

POSSESSION OF COUNTRY LIQUOR BY PRIVATE PERSONS ON SPECIAL OCCASIONS IN EXCESS OF LIMIT ALLOWED BY SECTION 19(1) OF THE ACT.

66242. If a larger quantity of Country spirit, pachwai or tari than that prescribed as the limit of retail sale be required by any person for use on any special occasion, such as a marriage, festival, caste-gathering, the special entertainment of guests or the like, such person may apply to an officer empowered to grant a permit under sub-section (1) of section 19, of the Act such other may, if satisfied that the occasion is a legitimate one and the quantity applied for is not excessive, grant to the applicant a permit, free of charge, from such licensed shop within his jurisdiction as the applicant may specify , such quantity as he may consider reasonable:

Provided that –(i) no officer below the rank of Inspector shall grant a

permit for the possession of more than three times the quantity which the applicant is ordinarily entitled to possess;

(ii) nothing in this rule shall be deemed to authorize any officer other than the Collector to permit the transport of country spirit to any area in which a higher duty is levied.

STRENGTH AND PRICE FIXED FOR VEND OF FOREIGN LIQUOR , DENATURED SPIRIT, COUNTRY SPIRIT, GANJA AND BHANG.

67243. Whisky, brandy and rum shall not be sold by a licensed vender at a strength lower than 25 degrees under London proof, and gin or vodka , shall not be sold at e strength lower than 35 degrees under London proof:

68Provided that liquor brandy, which has been matured for not less than ten years and the retail price of which for a bottle containing 750 mililitres is not less than Rs. 35 may be sold at a strength not lower than 35 degrees under proof.

Minimum strength for sale of whiskey, brandy, rum, gin, and vodka.

244. Denatured spirit shall not be sold by a licensed vendor at a strength lower than 69[55 degrees over London proof].

Minimum strength for sale of denatured spirit

245. Printed in Appendix 1. Prescribe strength and price of country spirit.

66 Amended by Notification No. 18028-S.R., dated the 23rd August, 1916, published on pages 1526-1527, Part I of the Calcutta Gazette of the 30th idem.67 "Vodka" inserted by Notification No. 574-Ex., dated 29th April, 1963.68 Inserted by Notification No. 115-Ex., dated the 31st July, 1952 and subsequently amended by Notification No. 357-Ex., dated 22nd March, 1962.69 Words in brackets substituted by for words "500 degrees over London proof" by Notification No. 751-Ex., dated the 5th June, 1967.

246. Printed in Appendix 1. Retail price of ganja and bhang.

70247. (a) Foreign liquor, as defined in the Bengal Excise (Foreign Liquor License Fee) Rules, when required to be sold in West Bengal in sealed and capsuled containers shall not be sold except in measures of 750 ml., 600 ml., 500 ml., 300 ml., and 250 ml., and 180 ml.

Exception.--- When this is sold to a purchaser in another State the rules in force in that State relating to sale shall be followed :

Provided that,(1) Brandy, whisky, gin, vodka and rum shall not be sold in

such containers except in measures of 750 ml., 600 ml., 500 ml., 375 ml., 300 ml., and 250 ml.

(2) Beer shall not be sold in such containers except in measures of 650 ml. And 325 ml.

(3) Bottled Foreign Liquor received from foreign countries can be sold in other measures if the contents in such a container do not exceed 1.15 litres and the contents of whisky, brandy, gin, or rum in such a container are not less than 250 ml.

(b) Every bottle of liquor sold , offered for sale, exposed for sale or in the possession of a person for sale, shall bear on the label a description of the correct measures of the contents in litres and or milliliters with margins of error for different kinds of foreign liquor as specified below:--

Kind of liquor Margin of error

Beer -- 2 percent . on the deficit side only

Foreign liquor other than beer-- 2 percent . on the deficit side only,Subject to a maximum of 7.5 ml.

Provided that, for a period of 2 years, clause (a) and (b) may be relaxed by the Collector, at his discretion, with respect to liquor which has been bottled or shipped before 1st April 1962.

(c) The minimum prices for sale to the public of the following foreign liquors shall be as follows:--

Brandy and whisky --- Rs. 9.50 per bottle of 750 ml., Rum, Gin and Vodka Rs.9.00 per bottle of 750 ml.,

Beer---Rs. 1.25 per bottle of 650 ml.

70 Substituted by Notification No. 393-Ex., dated the 29th March, 1962. Subsequently "Vodka" added by Notification No. 574-Ex., dated the 29th April, 1963.

The minimum prices for sale to the public of smaller measures of the following foreign liquors shall be as follows:--

Brandy and Whisky – 47 paise per 28 ml.

Rum, Gin and Vodka – 44 paise per 28 ml.