Gujarat Govt Tweaks Rules To Allow Liquor Consumption For GIFT City Workers, Visitors

With the objective of providing a "global business ecosystem", the Gujarat government announced on Friday (22 December) that the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) area in Gandhinagar will be exempt from prohibition.

While “liquor access permits” will be given to owners and employees of companies in GIFT City, these companies can “authorise” visitors with “temporary permits” to “drink in the presence of the permanent employees”.

The easing of restrictions comes just under three weeks prior to the start of the 10th edition of the three-day Vibrant Gujarat Summit.

This event is expected to include the inauguration of the offshore campus of Australia's Deakin University in GIFT City.

“GIFT City has emerged as a global financial and technological hub which is bustling with economic activities. An important decision has been taken on Friday to change the prohibition rules to allow ‘wine and dine’ facilities in the GIFT City area to provide a global business ecosystem to global investors, technical experts and national and international companies established there,” the state prohibition and excise department said in a statement.

“Under the new policy, hotels, restaurants and clubs in the GIFT City area will be given permits for wine and dine facilities,” it said. While liquor can be consumed in these facilities, they will not be allowed to sell liquor bottles, it said.

The statement clarified that individuals officially working in the GIFT City area, along with their official guests, will have access to the area's hotels, restaurants, and clubs for wining and dining.

“All employees and owners of GIFT City will be provided liquor access permit, using which they can consume liquor. Besides this, persons authorised by the companies or their visitors can consume liquor in the presence of regular employees using a temporary permit,” the statement said.

GIFT City, sprawling over 886 acres, encompasses a 261-acre multi-service Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and a 625-acre Domestic Tariff Area (DTA). It is also home to the nation's first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).

Major corporations such as IBM, Bank of America, HSBC, Oracle, Beefree, Citibank, Deutsche Bank, and PWC have already established offices in GIFT City, with an estimated workforce of around 20,000 people. However, only slightly more than one per cent of these employees reside within the vicinity of GIFT City.

There are plans for various housing developments, which include luxury properties. The area has an international school, an under-construction hospital and a five-star hotel among other facilities.