With the new policy in store, it’s curtains for the massive discounts that were being offered till last month, with a retail store in West Delhi offering BOGT (Buy One Get Two Free) offer on Indian wines and up to 1:1 free offer on imported wines and liquor!! This was ostensibly possible since many retailers had decided to call it quits and were desperately trying to get rid of their stocks at any cost.

From September 1, the Retail has been totally banned for private players and only 4 government agencies have been given charge to retail wine and liquor in Delhi under the old regime, with no discounts allowed as in the 2021-22 policy. These undertakings are the Department of Delhi State Civil Supplies Corporation Limited (DSCSC), the Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation Limited (DTTDC), the Delhi Consumer’s Cooperative Wholesale Store Limited (DCCWS) and the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC).

Also Read : Sisodia defends Delhi Excise Policy in Press Conference

Interestingly, in a Study conducted by the government, before announcing the liquor policy for 2021-22, it had found that the government –run retail shops were more corrupt than the private vends, and it had been decided to close all government undertakings owned shops for retailing and hand the business over to private shops totalling 849 vends. With the time frame and various constraints, it hopes to open a total of around 500 vends during September and 200 more during the remaining 6 months.

As per an official notification issued by Delhi government, ‘it has reverted the new excise policy to the old regime that was prevalent till November 16, 2021, for a period of six months with effect from September 1, 2022, while also extending the tenure of the licenses which were expiring on July 31, for two months. Delhi government gave an extension of two months to liquor shops with L-3/33 license to operate till September 30, 2022.’

Metro Stations come to the Rescue

One of the main factors causing the fiasco has been non- availability of proper space for selling wine and liquor from the promised swanky shops, the accepted swankiness level of which has already been diluted with not enough space of over 300 sq feet available at the desirable spots. With the opening of shops in the non- conforming areas ruled out, the government could expect to open between 600-650 shops only but the government puts the expected figure at 500 as of now.

Also Read : Delhi Excise reverts to Old Liquor Policy for 6 Months

Delhi Metro has come forward and made space available at several stations already and more shops are expected to open up at commercial rents. If the space is not available, the government is also looking at shops in the adjoining areas, the assumption being that the footfalls are a lot more in these areas.

The outlets have already been opened in Badarpur, Dwarka, Karol Bagh, Rajouri Garden and Mundka stations by DCCWS.

Airports to wait due to space constraint

According to this policy, liquor is available at duty free shops of the IGI airport. But other retail stores that were licensed till now to ‘The Cellar’, have been shut down on 31st August. The licensee has reportedly refused to release charge of these shops despite the license not being extended. This has caused a shortage in the available space at the Indira Gandhi Terminals with the result that a domestic passenger, cannot for the time being, buy duty-paid wine and liquor at Terminals 2 and 3 at the IGI international airport. According to reports, these stores have been very profitable.   

For a complete List of the 340 liquor vends that have been given license to retail in Delhi by the Excise Department so far, visit:

According to excise officials, other corporations, apart from DCCWS, will also open shops at metro premises soon as the stations provide good business opportunities because of high footfall and space availability. The government hopes to find shops with the required size of 300 sq ft. but is willing to compromise on the size due to scarcity of space.

The excise department is also planning to give licenses for wine and beer shops which will only sell light alcoholic beverages and rather than those with higher alcohol content like rum and whisky. It has planned to open 500 liquor vends across the city this month and at least 200 more by the year-end, according to excise officials.

Also Read : Blog: Delhi Excise 21-22 Policy means more Obfuscation

In July, the government withdrew its Excise Policy, 2021-22 after L G VK Saxena recommended a CBI probe into its alleged procedural irregularities and corruption. The government has reverted to the old excise regime that was operational before November 17, 2021, when the 2021-22 policy had come into effect with the opening of liquor stores by private players.

Subhash Arora

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