Haryana becomes latest state to lower drinking age from 25 to 21

The Haryana government modified its Excise Act on Wednesday, clearing the way for the state's legal age for the use, purchase, or sale of liquor to be reduced from the current 25 years to 21. For the same, the State Assembly passed the Haryana Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2021. The age limit in the National Capital Territory of Delhi was recently decreased to 21 years.  Furthermore, since the previous provisions in the Excise Act were enacted, the socioeconomic realities of the day have altered drastically. The Bill was introduced by Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, who is also in charge of Excise and Taxation.

According to the Bill, people are more educated and engaged in new endeavours, and they can also make sensible judgments when it comes to safe drinking. It was stated that while the Excise Policy for 2021-22 was being drafted, it was considered that the drinking age might be decreased to 21 because some states, including Delhi, had just cut the age restriction to the same age. As a result, the Haryana Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2021 reduced the minimum age limit from twenty-five to twenty-one years, as specified in sections 27, 29, 30, and 62 of the Haryana Excise Act, 1914.

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Meanwhile, Section 62 states that if any licenced vendor, its employee, or any person acting on his behalf sells or delivers any liquor to any person who appears to be under the age of 21, he/she will be punishable with a fine of up to Rs 50,000 in addition to any other penalty to which he may be subject. On Wednesday, the Haryana Assembly passed six laws, one of which was an excise bill. 

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• Dushyant Chautala
• Haryana
• drinking age
• Excise Act