Liquor supply improves in Delhi some brands still unavailable

After a two-week gap, the supply of liquor in Delhi has improved just in time for pre-Diwali celebrations. Around 910 out of 930 hotels, clubs, and restaurants in the city have renewed their licenses, and 110 wholesalers have received fresh licenses. Some premium brands are still missing due to ongoing probe in the previous excise policy.

After a gap of over two weeks, the supply of liquor in Delhi has finally improved, just in time for pre-Diwali celebrations. Of the 930 hotels, clubs and restaurants (HCR) in the city, 910 have renewed their licences, while around 110 wholesalers have got fresh licences -- a mandatory requirement to continue business after the Delhi government extended the existing excise policy till March 31, 2024, last month.

At the heart of the lack of availability of several liquor brands is the expiry of the 2020-21 excise policy on September 30. (HT Photo)

The consumers, jubilant of course, can tell the difference. Vineet Awasthi, a finance sector professional, said, “I went to a restaurant in Connaught Place in the second week of October, and was disappointed when two fairly common beer brands were not available. I visited the same restaurant on Sunday and both the brands were available.”

Some premium brands are, however, still missing from the shelves in the city due to multiple reasons such as the excise department not registering some brands due to the ongoing probe in the previous excise policy.

Manpreet Singh, a restaurateur and treasurer of the National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI), said the supply of beer brands such as Bira and Budweiser, and several whiskies has seen a boost. “But common premium products such as Chivas Regal whisky are still not available due to separate excise probe issues. Due to this, the consumers are going to Gurugram. Some wholesalers are yet to be registered because they haven’t completed the paperwork,” said Singh.

A Lajpat Nagar restaurateur, who did not want to be named, said the regular supply of Kingfisher beer is not yet up to the mark, as the licence has not been renewed. A Delhi government official too said that the delay in Kingfisher’s application is the reason for its non-availability in the city.

HT reached out to the United Breweries Group, which owns Kingfisher. However, it did not respond to queries.

Pradeep Singh, who works for a private firm and lives in Mayur Vihar, lamented, “When we plan our evening out, the first thing we do is to call the restaurant and ask whether they have the brands of our choice. This should not be the norm, and popular brands should be available in Delhi, so that we don’t have to worry about such things before we make our plans.”

A shortage of various popular brands was reported in Delhi in the first two weeks of October. At the heart of the problem is the expiry of the 2020-21 excise policy on September 30. While the government issued a notification allowing licencees to apply for a six-month extension after paying a fee, wholesalers had to obtain licences afresh -- a process that requires reams of documentation and on average, if everything is in order, a week’s time.

To make matters worse, the notification came a day before the policy lapsed — on September 29 — which was followed by a long weekend.

The excise department officials, however, said they had issued an alert to the licencees 10 days in

advance asking them to maintain adequate stocks so they don’t face problems. “Around 50 million bottles were available during the first two weeks of October at the 900 HCR licencees, 650 retail liquor stores and the warehouses,” said the excise official.

After the extension, all licencees under the HCR categories were required to renew their licences. The official added that at the time of the extension, Delhi had around 930 HCR licencees, and now around 98% of them have got their licences renewed. “Some new traders enter the market, while some exit due to their own reasons. It has nothing to do with excise department,” said the excise official.

The formulation of a new excise policy is pending for over one year, and the existing 2020-21 policy has been extended three times.

Vinod Giri, director general, Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC), said, “Stock problem usually occurs every time the policy is changed. The way out of this is to begin renewal process much in advance. The government should come up with a policy that ensures stability.”