Liquor Shops

Delhi drinkers may soon pay Gurugram-like prices for premium liquor

Delhi government is weighing bringing premium alcohol prices at par with Gurugram and Faridabad, as fixed retail margins in the capital push buyers to neighbouring cities

Maharashtra hikes excise duty on liquor, introduces new category: Details

Maharashtra hikes excise duty on Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and country liquor, introduces new Maharashtra-Made Liquor category; state expects ₹14,000 crore in revenue boost

AP liquor scam: Remand note alleges Rs 3,200 cr fraud involving YSRCP

The remand note issued by SIT during the arrest of alleged 'kingpin' of the Rs 3,200 crore Andhra Pradesh liquor scam accuses that top YSRCP leaders collected monthly kickbacks of Rs 5060 crore from liquor brands that were granted preferential treatment in sales through government-run outlets. The remand note of prime accused K Rajasekhar Reddy, alias Raj Kasireddy, an associate of former chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, alleges that the racket started in 2019 and "kickbacks collected each month were laundered" through hawala operators in Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi. However, the YSRCP on Saturday rejected these charges, criticising the TDP-led NDA government of orchestrating a politically motivated liquor scam narrative against party leaders and employing media propaganda to propagate it. The SIT had arrested the alleged kingpin and made a case for judicial custody of the accused in the remand note presented before a judge of a local court here on April 22. It alleges that th

Frequent increases in taxes in K'taka affected beer industry's growth: BAI

The beer industry has urged the Karnataka government not to go for any further tax increase as it may lead to reduced sales volumes in the state and put investment of over Rs 5,000 crore in breweries at risk. Frequent increases in taxes in Karnataka in recent times have affected growth from the beer industry and have also brought down tax revenues, the Brewers' Association of India (BAI) said in a letter to the state government. Taxes on beer have been increased three times in the last 18 months -- in July 2023, February 2024, and January 2025, and as a result, the growth in sales of beer in the state, which has always been healthy, has "slumped to stagnation", it said. "After the third tax increase in January 2025, beer sales have actually started contracting for the first time," said a letter by BAI Director-General Vinod Giri. BAI is the apex body of the beer industry representing India's largest beer makers such as United Breweries (owned by Heineken, AB InBev, and Carlsberg, .

No liquor sale in Delhi for 5 days in April-June quarter: Check dates

The national capital will observe five dry days from April to June 2025 for religious festivals, as per an excise department order

Buy one, get one free: Why liquor stores in UP are offering big discounts

Alcohol vendors in Uttar Pradesh are trying to finish inventory before the new excise policy comes into effect on April 1: Details here

Assam allows 24/7 shop operations in key cities, bars & liquor shops exempt

Workers cannot exceed 48 hours a week or 9 hours a day; no one will work over 5 hours straight without a 30-minute break and overtime beyond set limits is capped at 125 hours in three months

UP's new excise policy: E-lottery for licences, higher alcohol prices ahead

Uttar Pradesh government approves new Excise Policy for 2025-26, introducing e-lottery for liquor shop licences, higher alcohol prices, and consumer-friendly reforms

Delhi clubs, bars to check hard copy age proof for legal drinking

The Delhi government has directed operators of the city's hotels, clubs and restaurants serving liquor to verify the age of their clients through hard copies of government-issued identity proofs after violations of the legal drinking age norm were detected. In Delhi, liquor is served only to persons aged 25 years and above. The excise department of the Delhi government, during routine inspections by its teams in recent days, found customers younger than 25 years having alcohol at bars, clubs and restaurants. The inspections also revealed that some customers were consuming liquor pretending to have completed 25 years. Complaints were also received by the department that some excise licensees were serving liquor to underage persons, officials said. Under the Delhi Excise Act, 2009, no person or licensed vendor or his employee or agent will sell or deliver liquor to any person apparently under the age of 25 years for personal or others' consumption. The violations of the age restrict

SC issues notice on petition for age checks at bars and liquor stores

The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Centre in response to a petition calling for mandatory age verification at liquor outlets to prevent underage drinking and accidents

Spurious liquor claims 231 lives in Odisha over past 27 yrs, assembly told

As many as 231 people died after consuming spurious liquor in Odisha in 27 years between 1992 and 2019, Excise Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan informed the assembly on Saturday. In a written reply to a question of Congress MLA Nilamadhab Hikaka, the minister said the highest number of 134 people died after consuming hooch in Cuttack district in 1992. He said 41 people of Tukulipada in the then Bhubaneswar & Cuttack district lost their lives after drinking such liquor in 2012. The minister said spurious liquor also claimed 20 lives in Puri in 2001, 19 in Ganjam district in 2006, ten (three in Khurda & seven in Bolangir) in 2009 and seven in Bhadrak district in 2019. Harichandan said that the government, at present, doesn't have any proposal to provide assistance and rehabilitation to people falling ill due to the consumption of hooch and those addicted to liquor. A total of 433 country liquor (Mahua) shops are operating in Odisha and the government has collected Rs 227 crore ..

Delhi officials reject Pernod liquor licence appeal, cite investigations

The rejection adds to Pernod's India woes, with the French drinks group facing two antitrust cases in India while it also contests a tax demand for nearly $250 million

Delhi Airport T3 opens first retail liquor store for domestic passengers

The liquor store at Terminal 3 will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, unlike other retail liquor shops in Delhi. A similar store is also expected to open in Terminal 1

Delhi govt to soon open liquor vends at IGI Airport for domestic flyers

The Delhi government is likely to soon open liquor vends at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport serving domestic flyers after nearly two years of obstruction due to scrapping of its excise policy 2021-22, official sources said on Tuesday. The excise policy 2021-22 was scrapped by the Kejriwal government after Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena recommended a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in its formulation and implementation in 2022. After scrapping of the excise policy 2021-22, the retail liquor sale in the city was handed over to the four agencies of the Delhi government that was earlier handled by private licensees. Sources said the Delhi government's agency DCCWS (Delhi Consumers' Cooperative Wholesale Store Limited) is going to open its liquor shop at T3 terminal's arrival section by July. Another store is likely to come up at T1 terminal's departure area later, they said. The earlier attempts of the government agencies to open liquor vends at the domest

Tamil Nadu hooch tragedy: 111 persons undergoing treatment in hospitals

At Puducherry 11 persons, in Salem district 30 persons, and in Villupuram district 4 persons are undergoing treatment at various government hospitals

Gurugram liquor shop on Golf Course road auctioned for whopping Rs 50 crore

The new Haryana excise policy 2024-2025, enforced on Wednesday, has also resulted in a 20 per cent hike in liquor prices in Gurugram

UP govt considering bars in Noida, Ghaziabad to stay open till 4 am

Bars in the two cities are allowed till 1 am now, whereas those in Gurgaon and Faridabad are permitted to stay open until 3 am

LS polls: Liquor shops to remain closed for 3 days from April 17 in Pondy

All liquor, toddy, arrack shops and also clubs, bars and restaurants serving liquor will remain closed for three days from April 17 in Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam regions in view of Lok Sabha polls slated to be held on April 19 in the union territory. A notification of the Puducherry State Gazette said that the Lieutenant Governor has issued an order directing closure of the shops, clubs, bars and restaurants serving liquor to ensure "fair and peaceful polls in the Union Territory". The notification also said that all these shops and restaurants, bars and clubs would also remain closed on June 4 on account of counting of the votes. Another notification from the government said that as Kerala goes to the polls on April 26, all liquor, toddy and arrack shops and also clubs, bars and restaurants serving liquor would remain closed in Mahe region from April 24 to 26 to ensure fair peaceful polls and on June 4, the day of counting of votes. Mahe is an enclave of Puducherry in ..

LS polls: Liquor outlets, distilleries to be under surveillance in T'gana

For the first time in Telangana, all 24 liquor production points have been brought under CCTV surveillance to keep a check on the illegal flow of alcohol in the run-up to the May 13 Lok Sabha elections. Chief Electoral Office Vikas Raj said to prevent unwarranted liquor distribution during the elections, the state Excise Department is monitoring the sale of alcohol and will inform the Election Commission if there is a spike of more than 20 per cent in its production. The official said all the belt shops (unauthorised satellite shops) of liquor were shut down and the illegal network of distribution was stopped to a large extent. For the first time in Telangana state, 24 production points (for liquor--distilleries and breweries) all of them were brought under CCTV. And that was centrally monitored by the Commissioner's office and I (CEO) also have access to that. The outlets were brought under CCTV surveillance in September 2023 (ahead of state assembly polls). From then onwards we .

Pragya Thakur says BJP MLA running illegal liquor shop, demands his removal

BJP Lok Sabha MP from Bhopal Pragya Singh Thakur has accused her party legislator Sudesh Rai was running a liquor shop illegally in Madhya Pradesh's Sehore district and expressed concern over the safety of women and girls. She has also demanded Rai's removal from the MLA's post. When contacted, Rai told the mediapersons to themselves inquire into Thakur's allegations. Thakur, who has been denied renomination from Bhopal for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, on Monday night said she was on a visit to areas under her constituency to launch development works when some girls came to her at Khajuria Kala and complained a liquor outlet was being run in front of their school. "The girls were sad and teary-eyed, they complained that people gather at the liquor shop, make comments on them. They told me they are not safe and anything can happen to them. Some women said people enter their houses after consuming liquor," the BJP leader added. She claimed a police sub-inspector who was present th