The Assam government has revised its excise rules to reserve manufacturing licenses of heritage alcoholic beverages exclusively for tribal and indigenous communities that produce and consume such drinks. The government has also notified fee reductions to support local businesses, slashing the application fee for a heritage liquor micro-manufactory from Rs 25,000 to Rs 15,000. Similarly, the retail ‘vend’ license fee for selling heritage liquor has been reduced from Rs 5,000 to a mere Rs 500.
Objective of the New Rules
The aim is to legally protect and commercially promote the traditional drinks brewed by various ethnic communities of Assam. “This step ensures that the rich cultural heritage of Assam is preserved and prevents any outside commercial exploitation,” senior excise official Sailendra Pandey said.
Definition of Heritage Alcoholic Beverages
The new rules, published in the gazette notification issued on Friday, describe heritage alcoholic beverages as “traditionally produced by the indigenous communities in Assam, by using traditional starter cake made from local ingredients and time-honoured techniques that are passed down through generations and are unique to such indigenous communities and contains alcoholic strength of not more than 22.8% volume by volume but not less than 5% volume by volume.”
Production and Sale Regulations
The new rules have set a maximum production capacity for these micro-manufactories at 1,000 litres per day. The micro-manufactories can serve the beverages to customers for consumption within the premises or sell in kegs of at least 10 litres against transport permit, to other IMFL and beer bars, temporary bars and club ‘ON’ licence holders, but not to any ‘OFF’ (retail outlet) shop licence holder.
Reaction from Local Entrepreneurs
Reacting to the development, an indigenous Assamese entrepreneur in Sivasagar, Deepjyoti Duwari, told TOI, “CM Himanta Biswa Sarma has walked the talk. Before the elections, he promised that if he returned to power, he would take the traditions of the sons of the soil of Assam to the global stage and give them commercial importance.” “Today, during his second tenure as CM, this new global notification regarding the traditional drinks of Assam’s indigenous people will stand as a historic milestone for entrepreneurs like us,” Duwari added.
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