Alcoholic beverage industry urges Goa govt to defer Deposit Refund System

Panaji: Leading alcoholic beverage industry bodies have appealed to the Goa government to defer the implementation of the proposed Deposit Refund System (DRS) for liquor bottles and cans, citing supply chain concerns and potential revenue losses.

These industry bodies, which together account for a majority of branded alcoholic beverages sold in Goa, claimed the current timeline of DRS implementation is “unrealistic” and could cost the state exchequer over Rs 100 crore in excise revenue from beer and Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL).

Under the proposed environmental sustainability measure to improve recycling and reduce litter, the Goa government plans to introduce the DRS from April 2, 2026. It requires consumers to pay a refundable deposit on bottles and cans, which can be claimed back at designated recycling points upon return of the used packaging.

In a joint representation, the Brewers Association of India (BAI), the International Spirits and Wines Association of India (ISWAI), and the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC) said that while they support the environmental intent of the initiative, the framework has several gaps and key operational details remain unclear. They demanded that the DRS implementation be deferred until after October this year.

The associations held a meeting on February 18 with the Chairman of the Goa DRS Administration Committee Anthony De Sa, excise officials and the selected System Operator (SO) tasked with implementing the scheme.

They pointed out that specifications and application standards for the proposed Unique Serial Identifier (USI) are yet to be issued, preventing manufacturers from beginning essential inventory pre-building that typically starts in February ahead of the peak season.

Existing applicator systems on production lines would need reconfiguration, which could reduce efficiency by 25 to 30 per cent and lead to a shortfall of 10 to 15 lakh cases during the high-demand summer months, they said.

The associations added that high-speed alternatives would require up to five months for vendor onboarding, installation and validation, which the present timeline does not allow.

“While we support Goa’s commitment to environmental stewardship, the current timelines for implementation are extremely compressed and risk causing significant supply chain disruptions for the industry,” said Vinod Giri, Director General of BAI. He said breweries entering the peak summer season have limited operational bandwidth to experiment with new production configurations.

The industry also raised concerns over the preparedness of the selected System Operator.

Sanjit Padhi, CEO of ISWAI, said the proposed deployment of 300 return vending machines would be inadequate to manage the volume of bottles recycled every month in the state. He further questioned the proposal of a flat Rs 10 deposit on every bottle, irrespective of its retail price, calling it impractical.