Mumbai orchestra bars will receive relief from premises and performance licence fees after the Maharashtra government reduced the annual renewal fee increase from 10% to 5% and deferred the effective date of a revised fee structure by two years.
The state home department issued a government resolution on October 13 revising the fee provisions applicable to orchestra bar establishments within the jurisdiction of the Mumbai police commissioner. The decision changes the effective date of the revised premises licence fee from January 1, 2018, to January 1, 2020.
The resolution also provides concessions in premises and performance licence fees for 2020 and 2021. These concessions will be calculated in proportion to the period during which individual establishments remained closed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The decision followed representations by the Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association, known as AHAR, and consultations between the association and state government representatives. AHAR had filed writ petition No. 2614 of 2025 before the Bombay High Court challenging the fee-related notification.
According to the government resolution, the Mumbai police commissioner’s office had issued a notification on December 4, 2019, imposing a premises licence fee of Rs 2 lakh. That fee was made applicable retrospectively from January 1, 2018, with a 10% annual increase for renewals. The government said it became aware that premises and performance licence fees were not being recovered from orchestra bar licence holders because of the pending litigation.
Under the revised arrangement, the increase in premises licence fees will apply from January 1, 2020, rather than January 1, 2018. The annual renewal increase has also been reduced to 5%. The resolution links the Covid-period concessions to the length of time each establishment remained shut, rather than setting one uniform reduction for all licence holders.
The government resolution does not specify the final revised fee payable by individual establishments or quantify the total concession available to the sector. The actual relief will therefore depend on the applicable fee calculations and the recorded closure period of each establishment.
The Mumbai police commissioner has been directed to amend the December 2019 notification and take consequential action to implement the government’s decision. The amendments will determine how the revised rates and proportional concessions are applied to individual orchestra bar establishments.
