GUWAHATI: The Assam Excise Department has extended the operating hours for liquor outlets and bars in Guwahati. According to the latest government notification, Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) OFF shops are now permitted to remain open until 11:00 PM.
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Additionally, IMFL ON premises — such as bars and restaurants that were previously allowed to operate until midnight — can now extend their service hours until 12:30 AM.
The new timings come into effect immediately and are applicable only within Guwahati jurisdiction.
Earlier a GPlus report on April 5, stated that the Assam government was mulling extending the bar timings in the city.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently also found himself in the midst of controversy when he initially announced that liquor shops would remain open till 2 AM only to retract the statement a short while later. The confusion arose after a press conference in Dibrugarh where the CM detailed the extended business hours across the state. Following public concerns and outcry over law and order, Sarma took to social media to clarify that extended hours did not apply to liquor outlets.
