Delhi liquor sales below target in first five months, govt lowers revenue goal

While this figure is still higher than the revenue collected in the first six months of 2024-25 financial year, according to officials, it would not be enough to meet its estimated target of collecting Rs 7,000 crore only through excise duty.

Written by Gayathri Mani

New Delhi | Updated: September 21, 2025 10:54 AM IST

3 min read

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Following the scrapping of the old liquor policy, Delhi now has only government-run liquor shops. At present, the Capital has 792 government liquor shops run by four corporations.

The Delhi Government has reduced its target of collecting excise duty from Rs 7,000 crore to Rs 6,000 crore, officials said. The reason: The Excise department has not been able to collect enough revenue in the first five months of the 2025-26 financial year to meet its target.

Officials said that between April and August, the department has collected revenue worth Rs 2,500 crore. While this figure is still higher than the revenue collected in the first six months of 2024-25 financial year, according to officials, it would not be enough to meet its estimated target of collecting Rs 7,000 crore only through excise duty.

Between April and September last year, the department had collected an excise revenue of Rs 2,007 crore.

“If we compare the figures, the collection has been good but it is still below the set target. While the revenue collection in the first five months should have been around Rs 3,000 crore, it is only Rs 2,500 crore. Thus, looking at the numbers and other factors, we have decided to bring down the target to Rs 6,000 crore,” said a senior official.

The official further said that excise revenue collection usually sees a jump between October and December due to the festival season. “We are expecting the sale to pick up and collection to go up from October. People stock up for festivals like Dussehra, Diwali, Christmas and New Year… We are expecting the target will be achieved in the coming months.”

According to the department’s data, in the 2024-25 financial year, the government had collected Rs 5,700 crore from excise duty. With the addition of VAT collection, the number had shot up to over Rs 7,765 crore. In 2023-24, excise revenue collection between April and March, including VAT, stood at Rs 7430.97 crore.

Asked why the department is struggling to meet its target, the official said, “There are several reasons… including non-availability of popular brands and monopoly of certain brands prevailing due to lack of private stores selling liquor.”

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“As popular brands are not available in Delhi, people are going to neighbouring cities like Noida and Gurgaon to buy the brands they want… Also, we have observed that sales of beer were impacted this summer due to the non-availability of popular Indian brands…,” the official said.

The Delhi BJP government, which is now preparing a new excise policy, is considering reintroducing private liquor shops in the Capital — just as it was in the old excise regime before December 2021.

Following the scrapping of the old liquor policy, Delhi now has only government-run liquor shops. At present, the Capital has 792 government liquor shops run by four corporations — Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC), Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC), Delhi State Civil Supplies Corporation Limited (DSCSC), and Delhi Consumers’ Co-operative Wholesale Store Ltd (DCCWS).

Last month, the government had constituted a ministerial committee, headed by PWD Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh, to formulate a “transparent and socially secure” excise policy.

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