mumbai approximately hundred bars in the city including permit rooms and beer shops have permanently put up their shutters bar owners say they have been forced to do so mainly due to poor sales and rising costs which led to very low profit margins according to ahar indian hotel and restaurants association president sudhakar shetty 56 permit rooms in suburban mumbai and around 45 in the island city have shut shop another 50 may follow suit they are currently around only because they have already paid their taxes and licensing fees due to heavy taxation inflation and the subsequent rise in prices of liquor the number of tipplers is shrinking said sudhakar according to excise department officials around 56 permit rooms in the suburbs and almost 10 in the city have not renewed their licences in the previous financial year over the past three years 30 to 40 bar owners have not paid their renewal fees and thus have given up their businesses said an excise official sudhakar said the taxes have already lifted prices of liquor by 60 to 70 food inflation has also eaten into their business increasing service tax licence fees valueadded tax excise duty lpg cylinder prices electricity tariff and water bills are the main factors taking a toll on business over 30 of the tipplers have already shifted to the unhealthy country liquor there is not even a 5 profit margin in the business now he said it does not make any sense to go on with the business police raids have also contributed to scaring away tipplers instead customers prefer buying liquor from shops and drinking in their homes or at public places many more shops may close down if the situation fails to improve soon warned sudhakar i feel frustrated sometimes and dont understand why should i run the business when cant make enough money to run even my establishment in the present situation i am unable to capture the potential in the business at all said ahars secretary and restaurant owner shashikant shetty shashikant said apart from taxes food vendors running business next door on the streets without licence and taxes are taking away business of restaurants and bars by serving unhealthy food some of the bars that have not shut down have changed their menu said shetty hotel sadhana in bhandup west for instance has been converted into a vegetarian restaurant and has been renamed gopalas swagat bar in chembur has also been converted into a veg restaurant while topaz bar in chembur has been closed shri durga jaya bar at sewri naka is closed and so also hotel leisure point in borivli and mumbai mirch bar in andheri said sudhakar