If you are in Delhi, you can now add liquor to your online shopping cart and get it home delivered. The delivery of both Indian and foreign liquor through mobile apps and websites has been permitted under the amended excise rules governing the trade of alcohol in the city.
“The licensee shall make delivery of liquor at the residences only if order is received through mobile app or online web portal and no delivery shall be made to any hostel, office, and institution,” says the notification.
According to the Delhi Excise (Amendment) Rules, 2021, published in a gazette notification on May 31, only those who hold the L-13 licence will be allowed to deliver liquor to the doorstep of people.
The rules also permit licence holders to serve liquor in open spaces such as terraces, the courtyards of clubs, bars and restaurants. The move will bring some respite to restaurant owners, hoteliers who have been hit the most by the ongoing lockdown and curbs.
As Delhi has begun unlocking following a significant dip in COVID-19 cases, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said it will be a gradual process. The national capital went into a strict lockdown on April 19 as the second wave of the COVID-19 was intensifying by the minute. The now-partial lockdown is on till June 7.
People had queued up outside liquor shops soon after the announcement that the city was going under a lockdown. The latest move has brought cheers to many.
From where to order?
While details about the online platforms expected to sell liquor in Delhi are unclear at the moment, earlier in some states people could buy liquor through apps like Amazon, Zomato, and Swiggy.
In March, the legal age for drinking in Delhi was brought down from 25 to 21. Buyers would most likely be asked to provide age proof.
Delhi might also launch its own app for the job on the lines of Kerala's BevQ app, a virtual queue management system. More details from the government are awaited.
Delhi isn’t the first state to allow home delivery of alcohol. Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab, Jharkhand and Odisha are some of the states where doorstep delivery of liquor is permitted.
The AAP government is hoping that the gradual opening of business activities will help control spread of the coronavirus disease and also boost the confidence of business owners.
A recent survey by the FICCI showed that business sentiments have crashed as a result of the brutal second wave.
Delhi saw 648 fresh COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours while the positivity rate in the city fell below 1 percent since March 19, when the second wave started to spread through the city. The current positivity rate in the city stood at 0.99 percent.
(Edited by : Kanishka Sarkar)
First Published: Jun 1, 2021 2:24 PM IST
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