PANAJI
The excise officials on Monday night conducted a raid at El Patron Café & Bar, located in Siolim coastal village, suspecting that it was serving liquor beyond the permissible hours.
Officials, wishing anonymity, revealed that the establishment had permission to serve liquor until 11 pm, with the option to extend it for an additional fee. Since it allegedly continued serving beyond the permissible time, a case has been booked under the Goa Excise Duty Act. The operators, Akshit Shetty and Uday Sen are under inquiry, and the premises remained closed on Tuesday.
“The establishment holds permission to serve liquor till 11pm. As per the rules, an establishment owner needs permission with an additional fee of Rs 1 lakh to operate till 1am and Rs 5 lakh to serve liquor till 3-4 am. However in the present case, it still continued beyond the permissible time as a result of which a case under the Goa Excise Duty Act has been booked,” the official said.
Excise Commissioner Narayan Gad and the officer at Excise Station in Mapusa remained unavailable for comments despite calls by The Goan.
Sources claim that the operators have been openly violating the rules by publicly announcing extended operating hours, which are also available on its website. The Goan also possesses a bill indicating the sale of liquor post 12-midnight.
Meanwhile, a local has filed a complaint with the Goa State Pollution Control Board, alleging that the restaurant has been operating without obtaining the required consent to operate.
“…The restaurant unit named ‘El Patron’ at 152/2 S1, S2 Bay View Apartments, Vaddy, Siolim has been operating its business without obtaining consent to operate from the GSPCB,” complainant, Vinayak Somanache said, in his complaint dated September 5 seeking action against all the concerned.
