New Delhi: After a prolonged sluggishness in the entertainment business in the capital city due to the pandemic, the Delhi government has come up with a new excise policy to boost the city’s revenue besides cracking down on the liquor mafia.
The new excise policy is going to allow walk-in experience for customers at liquor shops, as well as bars in hotels, clubs and restaurants to promote microbreweries can now operate till 3 pm. Unveiling the Excise Policy 2021-22 on Monday, it noted that Delhi ranks 28th when it comes to the world’s most visited city and first in India by foreign visitors. Excise is an important source of revenue for the state.
Read also: Jeff Bezos to step down as CEO of Amazon on the same day he founded it 27 years ago
What are the changes under the new rules?
1. Promotion of private players: Under the new rules, the government will give way to the closure of state-run shops by exiting the retail liquor business while promoting private players in the national capital.
2. High Experience: As per the 2021-22 excise policy, each liquor outlet in the city will provide walk-in experience to its customers, who will have multiple choice of brands, and the entire selection and sales process will be completed within the vend premises. Such retailers will be air conditioned with glass doors. It states that customers will not be allowed to crowd outside a shop or on the footpath and make purchases from the counter.
3. Beer Takeaway: Now, people will also be able to fill their bottles or ‘growers’ with freshly brewed beer from any microbrewery in the city. This policy allows microbreweries to supply draft beer to bars. “Draft beer will be allowed to be carried in bottles or ‘growlers’. Microbreweries will also be allowed to supply to other bars and restaurants that have a license to serve liquor,” the policy document said.
However, wherever draft beer is to be served as a takeaway, information and indication of the short shelf life of this beer will have to be given. And the expiry date should be clearly marked on the bottles.
4. Bar Timings: This will bring some happiness to the bar workers inside hotels, restaurants and clubs as the government has allowed them to operate till 3 am, except those licensees who have been given license to operate liquor service round the clock . The new policy states that such establishments can serve liquor in open spaces such as terraces and balconies.
5 SecurityShops will be air conditioned, have glass doors and proper lighting. All shops should have CCTV cameras inside and outside and shopkeeper should have at least 1 month camera recording.
6. Increase in stores The policy has introduced a new category of retailer licenses – L-7 SP1 also known as Super Premium licenses – for international quality retailers that will provide a “high-end walk-in experience for consumers”. It states that the participation fee for the interested entity will be Rs 10 lakh.
The number of retail liquor sales in the city will be 849, which will include five super-premium retailers with a minimum carpet area of 2,500 sq ft. The Super Premium Vends, which will set up a tasting room within the premises, can sell products above Rs.200 MRP only for beer and products above Rs.1,000 at retail price for all other spirits, including whiskey, gin, vodka Includes, but is not limited to, brandy, etc.
“Super premium vendors will be required to stock at least 50 imported (B10) liquor brands including brands of wine (BECRS) etc. in store,” the policy document said. Country-Foreign Liquor Retail Outlets (L-7V) can be opened anywhere in any market mall, local shopping complex.
7. Licensing: Till now the owner of the venue had to obtain a temporary license to serve liquor at a banquet hall, farm house, motel, party place, wedding, party or any event. Now after depositing fees once a year through the new L-38 license, banquet halls, farm houses, motels will be able to serve local and foreign liquor in the parties held here. No provisional license will be required.
Until now, such establishments were required to obtain temporary licenses as P-10, P-10A, P-11 and P-13 for parties and functions.
What steps have been taken to check tax evasion?
Special excise duty adhesive labels, special inspection teams, a state-of-the-art laboratory are some of the steps taken by the Delhi government to check tax evasion, operation of retail outlets and counterfeit liquor.
As per the policy, the Excise Department has introduced Product Adhesive Labels (EAL) with high-end security features manufactured by Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL) to avoid tax evasion and plugging leakages in the supply chain.
However, the policy document does not highlight home delivery of alcohol which is part of the excise regulations and the legal drinking age which was proposed to be reduced from 25 years to 21 years with neighboring cities.
(with inputs from PTI)
.