Darjeeling’s iconic Glenary’s is more than just a café-bar. For over 150 years, it has been a landmark — a place where history, culture, tourism, and hospitality intersect. Which is precisely why the recent three-month shutdown of its bar by the West Bengal Excise Department has sent ripples across the hospitality ecosystem.

What makes this incident particularly instructive is not merely that violations were found, but the nature of those violations and what they collectively reveal about how cafés and bars are being evaluated by regulators today.

This was not a one-off procedural lapse. The Excise Department listed five distinct violations, recorded after a detailed inspection process. Read together, these point towards a broader issue that affects many cafés, bars, and restaurants across India — weak accounting systems coupled with poor compliance discipline.

Glenary’s Shutdown: When Accounts Fail, Licences Follow

What the Excise Department Actually Found

According to the order sheet, the violations included:

• Non-maintenance of regular and accurate accounts
• Accounts not attested by the licensee or authorised representative
• Presence of both excess and shortage of alcoholic beverages
• Storage of foreign liquor at unauthorised premises
• Additions and alterations without prior approval
• Conducting live musical performances without required permissions

Each of these is serious in its own right. However, what stands out in the order is the Excise Department’s explicit observation regarding the state of documentation, books, and accounts, describing the approach of the licensee as lackadaisical and non-chalant.

This language matters. It signals that regulators are no longer viewing accounting lapses as minor back-office issues, but as indicators of overall control failure.

Why Accounting Failures Magnify Regulatory Risk

In cafés and bars, accounting is often treated as a downstream activity — something to be reconciled later or handled purely for GST filings. That approach no longer works for liquor-serving establishments.

For excise authorities, accounts are operational evidence.

Accurate and attested books help demonstrate:

• Where liquor was sourced from
• Where it was stored
• How much was sold
• Whether licence conditions were followed

When accounts are incomplete, unsigned, or inconsistent with physical stock, every other lapse becomes harder to defend.

In Glenary’s case, the presence of both excess and shortage of liquor, combined with unauthorised storage, created precisely this problem. Without robust, reconciled records, authorities are entitled to presume violations rather than accept explanations.

Stock Mismatch Is a Regulatory Red Flag

One of the most common compliance failures we encounter while working with cafés is liquor stock mismatch.

• Excess stock raises questions of unauthorised procurement
• Shortage suggests unrecorded sales or leakage

Neither requires malicious intent to trigger enforcement action. They only require weak systems.

Without:

• Daily stock reconciliation
• Proper inward-outward registers
• Clearly approved storage mapping
• Accounting systems aligned with excise requirements

even well-known establishments become vulnerable.

Brand value, heritage, or tourist footfall does not dilute regulatory expectations.

A Wake-Up Call for Darjeeling and North Bengal Cafés

Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Siliguri, and surrounding regions are witnessing rapid growth in boutique cafés, bars, and experiential dining formats. At the same time, excise inspections have become more detailed, documented, and evidence-driven.

Authorities today are:

• Conducting multi-day inspections
• Reviewing historical records
• Examining licence conditions line by line
• Relying on videographic and documentary evidence

The Glenary’s action should therefore be seen not as an isolated incident, but as a signal of stricter, system-focused enforcement.

Glenary’s Shutdown – How we help Well-Run Cafés Do Differently?

At PGC, we already work with multiple cafés and hospitality businesses across North Bengal, including the Darjeeling belt. The difference between businesses that withstand inspections and those that struggle is rarely intent — it is structure.

Well-run cafés typically have:

• Disciplined accounting and documentation workflows
• Regular internal compliance reviews
• Excise-ready books and stock records
• Clear segregation between storage, service, and billing
• Approvals taken proactively, not retrospectively

When inspections happen, these businesses don’t scramble to explain gaps. Their records speak for them.

For café and bar owners, accounting is no longer a backend function. It is a strategic safeguard. Because in hospitality, one inspection can undo decades of goodwill.

If you operate a café or bar in Darjeeling or North Bengal and want your accounting and compliance systems to be inspection-ready, PGC works with you before problems arise — not after doors are forced shut.

For advisory support, connect with PGC today!