Unsold liquor bottles worth 70 lakh are being explored as ‘disposal options’; Delhi Excise Department

According to authorities on Wednesday, the excise department of the Delhi government is thinking of methods to sell 70 lakh bottles of surplus alcohol. The inventory, which includes wine and beer as well, is kept in warehouses because Excise Policy 2021-22, which eventually came to an end on August 31st, made it impossible to sell it.

‘Under the existing excise regulation, there are more than 35 lakh bottles of different alcohol brands registered. Such brands may be offered through corporate vendors,’ senior government official stated. The remaining inventory is made up of brands that have not yet been registered under the current excise regime. ‘ How to get rid of this stock of unregistered brands is being looked at. One choice is to register the concerned brands and sell them through the liquor stands. Another choice is to destroy them,’ the policeman added.

However, according to officials, instead of destroying the unregistered brand bottle containers, the government could allow their sale. They used a case from 2019 when the excise agency had produced a proposal asking for authorization to sell liquor bottles seized during raids at a discount of 25% following proper testing, rather than burning them.

Following the advice of a CBI investigation into suspected irregularities in its implementation, the Delhi government withdrew the Excise Policy 2021-22, which took effect on November 17, 2021. By operating liquor vends through its four undertakings—DTTDC, DSIIDC, DSCSC, and DCCWS—as of September 1 this year, the government subsequently went back to the excise policy that was in place before November 17, 2021.

The four firms have received 518 permits for liquor vends, according to officials. 400 out of the 406 new vending machines have already begun making stock purchase orders. Additionally, almost 650 alcoholic brands have been registered with the excise agency. In accordance with the current excise policy, officials stated the leftover stock may be sold. Unregistered brand beer bottles make up a portion of the stock, and the officials noted that these bottles must be disposed of quickly since they cannot be kept for an extended period of time without adequate refrigeration.