The government is overhauling the rules in a bid to boost domestic industry and bring drinking within the law
Save time by listening to our audio articles as you multitaskThis is how much of the drinking in Bangladesh takes place. Consumption of alcohol has long been outlawed for Muslims, who today make up 90% of the population. Other religions are exempt but need a permit issued by the government. A loophole for Muslims was introduced in 1950, but it includes a requirement for a doctor’s certificate.
The government has acknowledged the problem. It is overhauling the rules in a simultaneous bid to boost domestic industry and bring boozing within the law. Individuals will still require permits, but the process for restaurants and bars to get liquor licences will be made less ambiguous.
The new rules were also designed with an eye on Bangladesh’s growing number of foreigners—from humanitarian workers to Chinese labourers toiling on infrastructure projects—and aim to lure in more. Even as domestic tourism has taken off, foreign tourists have remained elusive. Conservative alcohol laws and dress codes are often blamed.
Not that there is any shortage of Bangladeshis to consume the booze. During the pandemic, which hindered flows of foreign alcohol and prompted a police crackdown on the black market, Carew’s liquor revenues surged from 1.56bn taka in 2019-2020 to 1.95bn taka the following fiscal year. Non-Muslims may have knocked it all back alone, but it seems likelier that some believers helped out.
The new laws should allow the government to make a little more money from selling alcohol. But legalising liquor sales to all, however lucrative, remains off the table. In April, lawyers with ties to the main opposition party challenged some of the new rules in the High Court. The government will want to keep the legal battle, assuming it engages in one, quiet. An election is coming next year, and the country’s powerful Islamic groups are riled by any whiff of the hard stuff—legal or not.
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