Delhi Excise department gears up for opening liquor vends, 300 retail licenses issued so far

New Delhi: The Excise department of Delhi government has so far issued 300 retail liquor licenses and started registration of various alcohol brands, as the four government corporations are scheduled to run 500 vends across the city from September 1, officials said on Thursday.

The department has also issued wholesale licenses (L-1) to more than 40 applicants and registered nearly 125 liquor brands, said a senior Excise department official.

"We are working overtime to ensure a smooth switch over to old excise regime as decided by the government and enable opening of 500 liquor vends by the four corporations from next month. Over 300 retail licenses have been issued so far and the remaining will be issued in the next few days," the official said.

The Delhi government last month decided to revert to old excise policy that was prevailing before implementation of Excise Policy 2021-22 from November 17, 2021. The decision came in the wake of Lt Governor VK Saxena recommending a CBI probe into alleged violation of rules and procedural lapses in its implementation.

The Excise officials said that as a result of the exit of private zonal licensees from retail sale, the number of liquor vends in Delhi presently number around 250. Under the Excise Policy, retail licenses were issued for 849 vends across the city divided into 32 zones.

"With the four corporations taking rein from September 1, the availability of liquor is expected to become normal," they said.

Presently many parts of Delhi, including Greater Kailash, CR Park, Chirag Dilli, Subhash Nagar, Daryaganj, Punjabi Bagh, Sarita Vihar, Malka Nagar, GTB Nagar, Chandni Chowk, Shalimar Bagh (South), Shakarpur, Anand Vihar, do not have any liquor vends.

The four undertakings of the government — Delhi Tourism and Transport Development Corporation (DTTDC), Delhi State Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC), Delhi Consumer's Cooperative Wholesale Stores (DCCWS) and Delhi State Civil Supplies Corporation (DSCSC) — will set up the 500 vends by the end of this month, the officials said.

Another 200 liquor vends will be opened by December 31, the report said.

The DTTDC and DSIIDC will open 150 liquor vends each by August end, while DCCWS and DSCSC will open 100 stores each in the same period, they said. By December, DTTDC and DSIIDC will each open 60 additional stores, and DCCWS and DSCSC will start 40 fresh outlets each, they said.