JAMSHEDPUR, Feb. 9 -- Now, bars in 5-star hotels can be open till 4 am, till 2 am at 3 and 4-star hotels while till 12 pm in bars and restaurants across Jharkhand. It will, however, come with the payment of additional license fees up to Rs.26 lakhs annually and prior NOC from the superintendent of police (SPs) concerned, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday. These details and nitty-gritties have been mandated in the state excise department's draft of the new "Jharkhand Liquor Storage and Wholesale Sales Rules-2026" uploaded on the department website, seeking the opinions of the stakeholders and the public. The new draft rules have proposed a tiered extension of the operating hours for the bars and conditions on the basis of the cities with detailed fee structure beyond the current midnight closure rule. The proposed regulations categorise operating hours based on hotel ratings and cities. According to the new draft rules, the 5-star hotels can now keep bars open till 4 am while the 3 and 4-star hotels will be restricted to the 2 am deadline. In major hubs like Ranchi, Dhanbad, East Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharsawan non-star establishments may stay open till 2 am but bars in rural areas and districts including Dumka, West Singhbhum and Khunti, the closing time will be midnight. The new rules have also called for shifting to a lumpsum annual minimum guarantee revenue (MGR) system from the current quarterly fee model and introduced an e-bank guarantee option for ease of doing business. The policy has also proposed a clear framework of fines, outlining specific grounds for suspension or cancellation of licenses in case of violations and irregularities. As per the new rules, persons entering licenses bars, hotels, restaurants with firearms will be fined Rs.1 lakh, appointing women staff without prior permission from the competent authority will attract fine of Rs.25,000 each, Rs.10,000 for smoking in no smoking zones, Rs.25,000 fine for less liquor served than the standard pegs, Rs.25,000 fine for not setting up a smoking zone, loud music after 10 pm, Rs.50,000 fine for CCTV cameras not working, not installing mass flow meters, not using peg measuring devices verified by the measurement and weight department. Every hotel must have at least 10 rooms for being allowed to serve liquor and every room must not be less than 100 sq feet with concrete walls. Bars, restaurants and hotels must have adequate parking space, NOC from fire department, seperate toilets for male and females. For the 5-star hotels, the application fee is Rs.200,000 with a security deposit of Rs.6 lakh. Annual indoor fee is Rs.2 million till midnight, Rs.2.2 million till 2 am and Rs.2.4 million till 4 am. For outdoor, it will be Rs.2.2 million, Rs.2.4 million and Rs.2.6 million respectively. For 3 and 4-star hotels, the application fee is Rs.100,000 with a security deposit of Rs.6 lakh. The indoor fee is Rs.1.5 million for midnight and Rs.1.7 million for 2 am closure time. The fee for outdoor activities is Rs.1.7 million and Rs.1.9 million respectively. The policy has proposed lower fees for government official clubs and state guest houses are Rs.25,000 application fee and annual charges between Rs.200,000 lakh and Rs.500,000 lakh. For temporary events like weddings and commercial functions, daily indoor license fees in major districts are set at Rs.20,000 for midnight and Rs.30,000 for 2 am deadline. Urban bars in Dumka, Godda in class-B category will have to pay an annual fee of Rs.900,000 (indoor) to Rs.1.1 million (outdoor) whereas rural establishments will have to pay Rs.600,000 to Rs.800,000 respectively with application fee of Rs.50,000....