Epiphany Hospitality Pvt Ltd Vs Commissioner Excise Entertainment And Luxury Tax Department Govt of Nct of Delhi & Anr (Delhi High Court)
Delhi High Court held that Eating House Registration/ License shall be deemed to be duly registered until its registration certificate is duly renewed OR renewal has been refused in terms of para-6(ii) of the Delhi Eating Houses, Registration Regulations, 2023.
Facts- The present petition has been filed by the petitioner, ‘Epiphany Hospitality Pvt. Ltd.‟, which operates a restaurant-cum-bar under the name and style of “M/s Social and Tinur”, also known as ‘Hauz Khas Social’, located at the First Floor of 9A, 12, T-12A, and Second Floor of 9A, 12, Hauz Khas Village, New Delhi-110016.
The petition has been filed on account of sudden disruption in the operations of the aforesaid restaurant-cum-bar of the petitioner in the evening of 03.04.2025. Notably, the respondent no.1 / Department of Excise, GNCTD, during the inspection at the petitioner’s premises on 03.04.2025, issued a written direction to the manager of the petitioner’s restaurant to put on hold, the sale of liquor therefrom, for the reason that no valid “Eating House License” was available with the petitioner.
Conclusion- Held that the petitioner has duly applied for renewal of its Eating House Registration/ License, and has submitted all the requisite documents for the said purpose. It is submitted that only the ‘area suitability report’ is to be obtained from the ‘local police and traffic’. The furnishing thereof is not in the hands of the petitioner. In case there is any delay on account of the same, the responsibility and consequences thereof cannot be fastened upon the petitioner. It is notable that para-6(ii) clearly contemplates that when an application for renewal of the Eating House Registration Certificate is duly submitted, then in such an eventuality, ‘the premises in respect of which the Registration Certificate is to be renewed, shall be deemed to be duly registered until such registration certificate is renewed and delivered to the applicant online, or till an intimation that the renewal of the registration certificate has been refused, is communicated to such person’.
