In a petition submitted to the National Assembly, Shompangkha Constituency’s Member of Parliament urged the government to limit the issuance of bar licences, monitor the sale and consumption of alcohol, and impose a tax on liquor. Currently, there are more than 10 thousand restaurants with a bar license in the country.
Doctor Tek Bahadur Rai, Shompangkha constituency’s MP said that consumption is especially not monitored in rural areas, where 50 per cent of the crops are used for brewing alcohol.
He said, “From what I have seen, there is no one to monitor the quality and sale of alcohol. It is easy to get a bar license. You just need to apply online via G2C services portal.”
To this, Industry, Commerce and Employment Minister Namgyal Dorji responded that existing rules prohibit the sale of alcohol to minors. He added that despite being constrained by a shortage of human resources, officials from his ministry are monitoring to ensure bars comply with the rules.
The minister said, “While making changes to policy to ensure the ease of doing business, issuance of bar licences has also become easy. For anyone applying for a bar licence online, they have to sign a letter of undertaking. This agreement will be sent to a committee, and it will be carefully reviewed. Right now, there is a lack of human resources to monitor. The local official of the ministry is monitoring the sale of alcohol in their local area. Even the gewogs and district government are monitoring as per the regulation.”
The minister also said the introduction of the Tax Bill of Bhutan, 2025, which proposes imposing tax on alcohol, might help curb the issue.
Singye Dema
Edited by Phub Gyem
