NEW DELHI: The government has issued instructions to hotels, clubs, and restaurants serving alcohol to ensure compliance with the legal drinking age of 25 years. Operators are now required to verify customers’ age using hard copies of government-issued identity documents.
The directive comes in response to violations detected during routine inspections by the excise department, which found instances of underage drinking at various establishments.
Officials revealed that some customers under 25 were found consuming liquor while pretending to meet the age requirement. Complaints were also received against excise licencees for serving alcohol to minors, prompting a review of these violations by the department.
Under the Delhi Excise Act, 2009, it is illegal for any person, licenced vendor, or their employees or agents to sell or deliver alcohol to individuals who are apparently under 25 years old, either for personal or others’ consumption. The department emphasised the importance of following these guidelines in a circular issued to licence holders, stating, “All the licence holders of hotels, clubs, restaurants are hereby directed to be more careful and to not serve liquor to any person under the age of 25 years without verifying the age through government-issued IDs.”
To strengthen enforcement, the excise department has advised licencees to verify customers’ ages using physical IDs rather than virtual ones saved on mobile phones, except for those stored in Digilocker app. This step aims to curb use of fake or tampered digital IDs. Non-compliance with the legal drinking age norms will invite action.