Off licence

Off-licence is a term used in the United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand for a shop licensed to sell alcoholic beverages for consumption off the premises, as opposed to a bar or public house which is licensed for consumption at the point of sale (on-licence). The term also applies to the licence granted to the establishment itself. Off-licences typically are specialist shops, convenience stores, parts of supermarkets, or attached to bars and pubs. Prices are usually substantially lower than in bars or pubs. Off-license is also used in New Zealand for beverage outlets inside sporting venues, whereby alcoholic beverages are brought 'outside' the point-of-sale, even if it was inside a food outlet because it can be consumed at the stands, but is still consumed within the vicinity of the venue itself, and cannot be taken out of the venue.

In the United Kingdom, the "off-licence" status of a shop could once be used as a device to circumvent restrictive trading laws, particularly those concerning Sunday trading. Depending on local by-laws, shops might be either required to close at 12:00 once a week, or else not be allowed to trade in the evening. Shops with an off-licence made their hours similar to those of public houses, opening during lunch hours and from early evening to the mandatory closing time, usually 22:30 or 23:00. The Sunday Trading Act 1994 altered the situation somewhat.

Alcohol licensing laws of the United Kingdom

The alcohol licensing laws of the United Kingdom regulate the sale and consumption of alcohol, with separate legislation for England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland being passed, as necessary, by the UK parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, and the Scottish Parliament respectively.

Throughout the United Kingdom, the sale of alcohol is restricted—pubs, restaurants, shops and other premises must be licensed by the local authority. In England, Wales and Scotland the authority to sell alcohol is divided into two parts – the Premises Licence, which prescribes the times and conditions under which alcohol can be sold, and a Personal Licence which allows individuals to sell alcohol or authorise its sale by others. Every Premises Licence which authorises the sale of alcohol must also name a Designated Premises Supervisor (Designated Premises Manager in Scotland) (“DPS” or “DPM” for short) who must hold a valid Personal Licence – otherwise alcohol cannot be sold at that premises. The DPS has day-to-day responsibility for the sale of alcohol at licensed premises. Premises licences, in as far as they concern the sale of alcohol, can be categorised to include on-licences (allowing consumption of alcohol on the premises) and off-licences. However, these distinctions are not explicitly made in the Licensing Act 2003, and the position in Scotland and Northern Ireland is more complex. Many on-licensed premises also permit off-sales.

Offlicence (music group)

Offlicence are an international hip hop, bhangra and R&B group from the West Midlands, UK. The group members consists of Punjabi vocalist Sunny J of South Asian descent, alongside rappers Lexeye and Projay, both of Caribbean descent.

Offlicence have had success in the Official UK Asian Download Chart starting with their debut single "Maar Glassi" that charted at #5 in June 2010. Their most successful single was "Ghaint Patola", which charted at #2 and peaked at #1 on the iTunes Store Top 10 World Song Chart in April 2011.

In 2007, Offlicence collaborated with music producer PBN (Panjabi By Nature) on the song titled "Jaan Panjabi". In 2008, they released their debut album Desilution featuring Apache Indian on the lead track "Indian Ting". The song was previously liked by TV show BBC Midlands Today, who used Offlicence for a campaign to end the friction between communities involved in the 2005 Birmingham race riots in Birmingham.

New single Style is set for release 17 January 2013 which sees Offlicence team up with UK rapper Trilla Jermaine Trilloski and producer Panjabi MC.