Recorded music banned in Delhi restro-bars, only live music allowed

New Delhi: Restro-bars playing recorded songs or music in their premises will attract strict action from the authority, with the Delhi government warning these establishments against it, citing laid down rules.

The government has directed that as per the 2010 excise rules, restaurants serving alcohol are allowed to hold only "live singing or playing of instruments" by professionals. The move comes after the Delhi excise department received a number of complaints from local residents regarding "nuisance" created by several restro-bars in the city.

In the national capital, there are thousands of restro-bars and most of them usually play recorded songs or music in their premises to entertain their customers and attract people.

"L-17 (restaurants which serve food and alcohol) are only permitted for live singing and playing of instruments by professionals in their premises," Delhi Excise Commissioner Amjad Tak told PTI.

According to the directions by the department, Rule 53 (4) of the Delhi Excise Rules, 2010 states that the L-17 licensee is allowed only for live singing/playing of instruments by professionals.

In Delhi, there is no provision of separate licence for pubs. The Licence-17 is issued by the Excise Department to those restaurants wanting to serve alcohol to their customers.

Another senior government official said that teams of the Excise Department visit restaurants serving alcohol and take action against those violating rules.

"During inspection, we ensure that all laid down rules are followed and if there is violation of any rule, the department takes strict action," the official, who did not wish to be named, said.

According to the department, it received Rs 305.85-crore excise revenue in April this year while in the same month last year, the revenue was Rs 291.01 crore.

The department has set a target of Rs 5,200 crore from excise revenue in the current financial year. In the last financial year, it collected Rs 4,551.57 crore as excise revenue.