At 3.87 crore bottles, pre-Diwali liquor sales set new high in Delhi

Liquor sales in Delhi set a record during the two weeks leading up to Diwali, with more than 3.87 crore bottles sold, generating a revenue of Rs 447.62 crore for the Delhi government’s excise department, officials said on Saturday.

Between October 15 and October 30, Delhi government liquor stores sold a significant 3.87 crore bottles, which included 2.98 crore bottles of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and 89.48 lakh beer bottles, according to official data.

Diwali, observed on October 31, was a ‘dry day,’ with all liquor stores in the city closed.

On the evening before Diwali, October 30, a total of 33.80 lakh bottles were sold, bringing in Rs 61.56 crore in revenue.

Compared to the previous year, sales surged by 1.18 crore bottles, increasing from 2.69 crore in 2023 to 3.87 crore this Diwali season.

After facing challenges following the withdrawal of the 2021-22 liquor policy, the excise department reported Rs 3,047 crore in revenue during the first half of the financial year (April-October 2024), reflecting a 7 per cent growth from the Rs 2,849 crore revenue during the same period in 2023.

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The overall excise revenue, including VAT, for April to October 2024 was Rs 4,495 crore, up from Rs 4,188 crore in the same timeframe the previous year, a senior excise official said.

“These numbers are particularly significant given the September issues with the ESCIMS software and the shift to the eAbkari system in October. The revenue flow is now being efficiently streamlined,” the official commented.

Delhi’s retail liquor market experienced setbacks after the Delhi government withdrew its new excise policy in July 2022, which had previously allowed private operators to run liquor stores in the city.

The liquor trade also felt the effects of the economic downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic before retail sales were transferred to government corporations.

Excise officials anticipate even stronger sales and revenue in the coming months as operations stabilise with the appointment of a new excise commissioner.

The position, vacant for several months since the transfer of former commissioner KM Uppu to the New Delhi Municipal Council in December last year, was recently filled by Ravi Jha, a 2011 batch IAS officer, who now leads as the excise commissioner of Delhi.

(With inputs from PTI)