Delhi plans more premium liquor vends ahead of New Year | Latest News Delhi

New Delhi, The Delhi government is planning to open more premium vends in the city to serve high-end customers ahead of Christmas and other festivals, an officer said Tuesday.

These stores would be bigger in size, ideally over 500 square metres, with customers given the option to select their preferred brands off the shelf.

“We have asked the four Delhi government corporations to open more premium shops. They are working on it,” said a senior Excise department officer.

After the excise policy 2021-22 was spiked in August 2020 and private operators shut down liquor vends in Delhi, four corporations handle all liquor trade in the city.

These are Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation , Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation , Delhi Consumer’s Cooperative Wholesale Store , and Delhi State Civil Supplies Corporation Limited .

At present, more than 45 premium vends are in operation at major shopping hubs and malls in the city, the official said.

The four corporations have been directed to find suitable locations to rent out for opening more premium vends, they said.

The new premium stores in the capital will likely be opened in the malls and shopping complexes depending upon rented space availability, the person said.

The four Corporations collectively run nearly 700 liquor stores out of small shops with customers purchasing their brands across a wooden counter.

The revenue earned through excise duty on liquor and Value Added Tax have shown an improvement this year over the last fiscal, and new premium shops may bring more customers to the stores and improve the sales and the earnings, the official said.

In the first half of the current fiscal, the Excise department earned ₹3,047 crore in duty on the sale of liquor as compared to ₹2,849 crore earned in the same period last year.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.