Liquor industry welcomes Delhi govt proposal to overhaul alcohol sales

Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC), the apex body of the Indian alcoholic beverage industry on Thursday welcomed an initiative by the Delhi government to overhaul the sales and distribution of alcohol in the national capital.

It also welcomed some suggestions such as lowering of age bar for drinking, reduction in dry days, and opening up of more retail shops.

“We applaud this bold initiative, and the methodical consultative manner that it is being conducted in. We totally agree with the objectives and overall direction. At the same time, we have requested the Government to make some changes so as to ensure smooth transition, minimize disruption and prevent negative fall outs,” says Vinod Giri, the Director-General of CIABC.

Through a detailed letter submitted to the government, CIABC has supported setting up of a government-owned wholesaling corporation but urged the government to plan the transition carefully, giving sufficient notice and preventing business disruption. CIABC has also demanded that all products whether produced domestically or imported should be distributed through the same corporation and must be treated in the same manner.

“Some proposals seem to favour imported products at the expense of Indian made products and should be done away with. These include keeping imported products outside the proposed Corporation and charging less brand license fees for imported products. The government should aid growth of Indian industry and not the other way round,” said Giri.