Excise dept special drive against unlicensed restaurants in Delhi

Delhi's excise department has raided over 40 unlicensed venues, registering 24 FIRs for illegal liquor sales, aiming to recover lost revenue and ensure public safety.

The Delhi government’s excise department has launched a crackdown on unlicensed restaurants, clubs, and hotels across the Capital to check revenue losses due to unauthorised liquor sales and licence fee evasions, officials said on Saturday.

Excise dept special drive against unlicensed restaurants in Delhi

Excise officials raided more than 40 restaurants between January 1 and April 30 and found restaurants that did not have liquor licences serving liquor in Punjabi Bagh, Rajouri Garden, Mayapuri, Rohini, and Wazirpur.

“We have registered 24 first information reports (FIR) against establishments that were serving liquor to people without obtaining any licence from the excise department to serve liquor. The aim of the drive is to recover lost revenue, tighten regulation of the liquor market, and maintain public order. The 24 FIRs have been registered between January and April 30,” said an excise official.

In comparison, only nine FIRs were registered against such premises in the corresponding period in 2023 and five FIRs were lodged in 2024.

“Such establishments pose a serious risk of distributing non-duty paid liquor which is potentially a threat to public safety because without being part of the excise regulatory system, such businesses escape monitoring, making it harder for authorities to enforce rules around alcohol sales and consumption,” said a second excise official.

Delhi has 1,000 establishments that have valid liquor licences. But a substantial number of unregistered venues continue to serve people liquor without obtaining the excise licence, resulting in two problems: a loss of licence fee revenue and excise duty to the government, and possibility of compromised quality of liquor.