Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2018

Bihar Act 8, 2018

30 July 2018

TO AMEND THE BIHAR PROHIBITION AND EXCISE ACT, 2016 [Bihar Act 20, 2016] Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Bihar in the Sixty Ninth year of the Republic of India as follows:-

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S.1 Short title, extent and commencement

(1) This Act may be called the Bihar Prohibition and Excise (Amendment) Act, 2018.

(2) It shall extend to the whole of the State of Bihar.

(3) It shall come in to force at once and the provisions of the Amendment Act shall apply to all pending cases.

S.2 Amendment of Section-2 of Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016

Sub-section (58) of section-2 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, shall be substituted by the following:-

"(58) - "Premises" means and includes land and such construction by way of a building, store, shop, hotel, restaurant, bar, booth or any other structure and movable structures including vessel, raft, vehicle and any other movable structure."

S.3 Substitution of section-30 of Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016

Section-30 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, shall be substituted by the following:-

"30- Penalty for unlawful manufacture, import, export, transport, possession, sale, purchase, distribution, etc. of any intoxicant or liquor.- Whoever, in contravention of any provision of this Act or of any rule, regulation, order made, notification issued thereunder, or without a valid license, permit or pass issued under this Act, or in breach of any condition of any license, permit or pass renewed or authorisation granted thereunder -

• (a) Manufactures, possesses, buys, sells, distributes, collects, stores, bottles, imports, exports, transports, removes or cultivates any intoxicant, liquor, hemp; or
• (b) Constructs or establishes or works in any manufactory, distillery, brewery or warehouse; or
• (c) Manufactures, uses, keeps or has in his possession any material, utensil, implement or apparatus, or uses any premises, whatsoever, for the purpose of
  

S.4 Substitution of section-32 of Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016

Section- 32 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, shall be substituted by the following:-

"32- Presumption as to commission of offence in certain cases.-

(1) In prosecution of an offence under this Act, the accused person would have to account for the possession of any liquor, intoxicant, material, utensil, implement or apparatus involved in manufacture or storage of such liquor.

(2) In the event of a failure to offer a satisfactory explanation, there shall be a presumption that the accused person is guilty of the commission of such offence, unless proved otherwise.

(3) Where any equipment, machinery, animal, vessel, cart, vehicle, conveyance or any premises are used in the commission of an offence under this Act, and are liable to confiscation and/or liable to be sealed, the owner or occupier thereof would need to account satisfactorily, and in the absence of a satisfactory explanation the presumption that accused person committed the offence s

S.5 Substitution of section-33 of Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016

Section- 33 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, shall be substituted by the following:-

"33- Penalty for rendering denatured spirit fit for human consumption.- Whoever alters or attempts to alter any denatured spirit with the intention to make it fit for human consumption, whether as a beverage or as a medicine, or in any other way and by any other method or knowingly possesses any altered denatured spirit, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years but which may extend to imprisonment for life and with fine which shall not be less than one lakh rupees but which may extend to ten lakh rupees."

S.6 Substitution of section-34 of Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016

Section- 34 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, shall be substituted by the following:-

"34-Penalty for mixing noxious substance with liquor.- Whoever, (a) mixes or permits to be mixed with any liquor sold or manufactured or possessed by him, any noxious drug or any poisonous ingredient; or (b) makes, sells or possesses any preparation, whether solid, semi solid, liquid, semi liquid or gaseous, either made locally or otherwise, that may serve as an alcohol or a substitute for alcohol and is used or consumed for the purposes of getting intoxicated which is likely to cause disability or grievous hurt or death to human beings, shall be punishable:-

• (i) if as a result of such an act, death is caused, with death or imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine, which shall not be less than five lakh rupees but which may extend to ten lakh rupees;
• (ii) if as a result of such an act, disability or grievous hurt is caused to any person, with
  

S.7 Deletion of section- 35 of Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016

The section- 35 (Penalty for committing fraud) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, shall be deleted.

S.8 Substitution of section-36 of Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016

Section-36 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, shall be substituted by the following:-

"36- Penalty for dealing in spurious liquor.- Whoever, manufactures, possesses, sells, stores, distributes, bottles, imports, exports, or transports any spurious liquor, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years but which may extend to imprisonment for life and with fine, which shall not be less than one lakh rupees but which may extend to ten lakh rupees."

S.9 Substitution of section-37 of Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016

Section- 37 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, shall be substituted by the following:-

"37- Penalty for consumption of liquor.- Whoever, in contravention of this Act or the rules, notification or order made thereunder -

• (a) consumes liquor or intoxicant in any place; or
• (b) is found drunk or in a state of drunkenness at any place; or
• (c) drinks and creates nuisance or violence at any place including in his own house or premises; or
• (d) permits or facilitates drunkenness or allows assembly of drunken elements in his own house or premises;

shall be punishable,

(1) in case of an offence falling under clause (a) and (b),for the first offence only with fine which shall not be less than Fifty thousand rupees or in lieu thereof sentence for a period of three months imprisonment but for subsequent offence falling under clause (a) and (b), shall be punishable with a term which shall not be less than one year but

S.10 Deletion of section- 38 of Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016

Section- 38 (Penalty for possession or knowledge of possession of intoxicant) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, shall be deleted.

S.11 Deletion of section- 53 of Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016

Section- 53 (Enhanced punishment after previous conviction) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, shall be deleted.

S.12 Substitution of section- 54 of Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016

Section- 54 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, shall be substituted by the following:-

"54- Failure of occupier to disclose information of unlicensed manufacture or cultivation or consumption of liquor or intoxicant-

(1) Whenever any liquor or intoxicant or other excisable item is manufactured, sold, stored, bottled, possessed, consumed or any excisable plant is cultivated in contravention of this Act, occupier of that land or building or his agents, shall give information to the nearest excise official, police official or the Collector as soon as the fact comes to their knowledge.

(2) Whenever occupier(s) of that land or building or his agents fail to disclose information as per subsection (1), such person or persons shall be liable to be punished for imprisonment up to two years."

S.13 Substitution of section-56 of Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016

Section-56 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, shall be substituted by the following :-

"56- Things liable for confiscation.- Whenever an offence has been committed, which is punishable under this Act.-

• (a) any intoxicant or liquor unlawfully imported, transported, manufactured, sold, stored, possessed, material, utensil, implement, apparatus, package or covering and or the other contents, if any, of such receptacle, package or covering for the purposes of storing, manufacturing or labelling such intoxicant or liquor;
• (b) any animal, vehicle, vessel or other conveyance used for carrying any intoxicant or liquor; or
• (c) any premises or part thereof that may have been used for storing or manufacturing any liquor or intoxicant or for committing any other offence under this Act;

shall be liable to be confiscated in a manner prescribed under the provisions of the Act,

(d) The State Government, if deem necessary, may i

S.14 Substitution of Section-62 of Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016

Section-62 of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, shall be substituted by the following :-

"62- Premises liable to be sealed.- If it comes to the notice of any excise officer or any police officer, not below the rank of a Sub Inspector, that any liquor or intoxicant has been found at a particular premises or a particular premises or a part thereof is or has been used for committing any offence under this Act, he may immediately seal the premises and send a report to the Collector for the confiscation of the same.

Provided that if the said premises are temporary structures which cannot be effectively sealed , then the excise officer or the police officer, with the order of the Collector, may demolish such temporary structures."

S.15 Deletion of section- 64 of Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016

Section-64 (Collective fine) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, shall be deleted.

S.16 Deletion of section- 66 of Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016

Section-66 (Externment etc of notorious or habitual offenders) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, shall be deleted.

S.17 Insertion of proviso after sub-section (1) of section-76 of Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016

After sub-section (1) of section-76 of Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016, the following proviso shall be inserted:-

"Provided that offence committed for the first time under sub section (1) of section-37 and offence under section- 54 of the Act shall be bailable."