Delhi's retail liquor trade records sharp fall compared to Q1FY23

According to a report prepared by the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC), the retail liquor trade in the national capital has reported a sharp decline compared to the first quarter (April-June) of 2022, when the scrapped excise policy of AAP-led Delhi government was in place. The Delhi government withdrew the new excise policy in July 2022 after Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena recommended a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in its implementation. The policy was finally wrapped up on August 31 last year. The old policy under which Delhi government corporations opened liquor vends in the city was rolled out on September 1, 2022. Despite all the disruptions related to the excise policy changes and the non-availability of many brands, Delhi maintained a healthy annual growth rate of 36 per cent year on year, the CIABC report said. However, a closer analysis shows that much of this growth is attributed to the first quarter of 2022-23, when various trade schemes and promotions were run to liquidate the stock in view of the impending changes in the excise policy, it added. “Thereafter, sales growth has been trending down, reaching a negative range. This indicates the need for urgent policy intervention, in the absence of which the sales may start dipping in FY 23-24,” the report claimed. Saurav Gupta, a resident of Supertech Eco Village 1 (Greater Noida) said “It is very hard to get top brands of liquor in Delhi ever since the new excise policy was scrapped. I always travel with my friends to Noida and Gurugram to get the brands of our choice. This may be one of the biggest reasons for less consumption of liquor in the city,”. According to the CIABC data, the liquor sale recorded a massive 263-per cent growth in the first quarter of 2022. It was followed by a 28-per cent growth in the July-September quarter and a 19-per cent growth in the October-December quarter. However, the January-March 2023 period recorded a negative growth of 14 per cent, the data showed. The last two quarters of 2022-23 – October-December and January-March – showed a sharp decline of 19 per cent and minus 14 per cent, as compared to the first quarter growth of 263 per cent in the April-June quarter of 2022. With inputs from PTI Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .