Detailed terms for home delivery of liquor only after Delhi cabinet’s nod

Home delivery of liquor in Delhi may be done through empanelled intermediaries, who will be collecting the bottles from retail vends and delivering them to homes in various localities, according to officials

People in Delhi may soon be able to order liquor at home like they order food online, once the recommendations of a ministerial group are accepted.

The empanelled agencies entitled to do home delivery will be required to hold requisite licenses and permissions, according the cabinet note. (HT Archive)

Home delivery of liquor in Delhi may be done through empanelled intermediaries, who will be collecting the bottles from retail vends and delivering them to homes in various localities, according to officials who have seen a 17-page cabinet note approved by a group of ministers lead by Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia.

The ministerial group has batted for home delivery of approved liquor to ensure people do not drink spurious alcohol that lead to hooch tragedies. Such a system will also check bootlegging and interstate smuggling of liquor.

After the cabinet approves the proposals, the excise department will draft rules to implement the home delivery system that ensures keeping with the provisions of Delhi Excise Act, such as not delivering of liquor to underage individuals. The planning department has advised that a suitable policy should be framed for in regard to home delivery of liquor, official said.

The Delhi Cabinet in February last year constituted a group of ministers to initiate state excise reforms under the chairmanship of Sisodia. The group includes ministers of urban development and revenue, and examines all aspects of the current system, report of expert committees and suggestions and feedback from stakeholders and the general public.

The group has also recommended that there should not be any restrictions on the rate of discounts on liquor.

Home delivery of liquor was rolled out in West Bengal, Odisha and Maharashtra to create an alternative route to maintain supplies amid shop shutdowns during the Covid pandemic.

“Noting that the concept of home delivery of liquor has been adopted by many states in India and also considering the Covid experience and also to facilitate the customers, the GoM has recommended that home delivery of liquor sourced from retail liquor vends in Delhi may be allowed,” the cabinet note states. HT has seen a copy of the cabinet note.

The law department has pointed out that home delivery of liquor is a new concept in the country and its pros and cons are still to be tested. The excise department will also study various models of home delivery of liquor adopted by other states, according to a law department official.

The empanelled agencies entitled to do home delivery will be required to hold requisite licenses and permissions.

“Even after home delivery is allowed, the government will monitor the mechanism and will issue necessary orders as and when required. Executive orders issued by excise department under Section 4 of the Delhi Excise Act, 2009 will be binding and enforceable under the statue and the licensee will be bound to comply with the executive order issued,” a Delhi government official said, seeking anonymity. “The department will further ensure that there is no violation of the provisions of the Delhi Excise Act.”

For home delivery of liquor to become sustainable, the government must not make consumers pay more or eat in to profit margins of current supply chain participants, said Vinod Giri, director general of the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies, a lobby group.

“States like West Bengal and Odisha had rolled out home delivery system during Covid times as an alternative route created in order to maintain supplies during shop shutdowns,” Giri said. “It was an added service within the existing distribution system, where the cost of service was passed on to consumers, who were charged up to ₹100 per delivery. This obviously is unsustainable when most popular products cost less than ₹500-700 per bottle and consumers are used to discounts in on line stores.”

“It is our view that in order to succeed, home delivery should not make consumers pay more,” Giri said. “It must be a new parallel channel with its own (profit) margin structure and ensuring same MRP (maximum retail price) as in shops, if not less.”

Home delivery of alcohol is possible and preferable, said Subhash Khandelwal, president of Chamber of Trade and Industry, another lobby group.

“People should be allowed to buy liquor from the comfort of their homes,” said Khandelwal. “During Covid, when social distancing is the norm, why shouldn’t the government allow home delivery and avoid crowding outside liquor stores? It will generate additional jobs and will increase the government’s revenue.”