NEW DELHI: The Excise Department has directed four government corporations to adhere to the fixed schedule for retail outlets — holding L6 and L8 licenses — to carry out business activities in the city. The order issued by the deputy commissioner (excise) Sandeep Mishra last week said no deviation is permitted and the timings of operation of retail vends should be ‘scrupulously’ followed.
There are 863 liquor shops in Delhi and 475 are run by four state-run agencies — Delhi State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC), Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC), Delhi State Civil Supplies Corporation (DSCSC) & Delhi Consumer’s Cooperative Wholesale Store (DCCWS).
“It has come to the notice that four government corporations viz DTTDC, DSIIDC, DSCSC and DCCWS, which excise licensees for selling liquor in Delhi are not strictly following the directions of the excise department and deviating from the terms and conditions of the license issued to them. It is also learnt that timings of operation L6 and L8 vends are changed by the corporations on their own without the approval.
The timings for the operation of retail vends are from 10 am to 10 pm, which is to be scrupulously followed by all,” said the order issued by the Excise department. L6 licence — for retail vends of Indian liquor or beer — is granted only to the four government undertakings. L8 licence is for retail vends selling country liquor. Last month, the Delhi government had extended timings for the opening of liquor shops in the national capital by a whole hour to boost its revenue collection through the sale of liquor.
Liquor shops were allowed to open from 10 am to 10 pm instead of the earlier timing of 10 am to 9 pm. The order further directed to retail liquor vendors holding L6 and L8 licenses to accept Transport Permit (TP) offline if it is not viewed on the portal — Excise Supply Chain Information Management System (ESCIMS), which was set up to monitor day to day liquor transactions done by licensees including all distilleries, manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers.