The Delhi government excise department has invited applications for hotel, club and restaurant licences, ahead of the expiry of the existing excise policy on September 30.

According to a recent departmental order issued last week, the issuance of new hotel, club, and restaurant (HCR) licenses will be contingent upon approval from the excise commissioner, and applicants are required to submit their applications online.

Applicants must provide essential documentation, which includes health and trade licenses, a no-objection certificate from the Delhi Fire Services, as well as a registration certificate for an eating house license issued by DCP (licensing), among other requirements.

On March 15, a government spokesperson announced that the Delhi Government has opted to prolong the existing excise policy by six months due to the absence of a newly formulated policy.

The government had returned to its old excise policy after scrapping its new excise policy after Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena in July 2022 recommended a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in its implementation.

The existing excise policy was implemented on September 1, 2022 as a stopgap arrangement till a new policy was prepared and implemented by the Delhi government. This policy was scheduled to expire on March 31 but the Delhi government has extended it for six months until September 30.

The excise department is yet to announce the extension of the current policy or replace it with a new one as was originally planned.