new delhi bengaluru diageo india pernod ricard beam suntory bacardi remy martin and other liquor companies have jointly called upon the government to allow shops that sell alcoholic beverages to open for some time everyday after enforcing social distancing norms only essentials such as groceries and medicines are currently exempted under the covid19 lockdownthe indian spirits wine association of india iswai which represents indias largest liquor makers told the consumer affairs ministry that the suspension of alcohol sales is only helping the illegal trade the letter a copy of which et has seen was also addressed to the department for promotion of industry and internal trade dpiit and niti aayog advt food is an essential commodity and alcohol is classified as food under the food safety standards act of 2006 said the letter signed by iswai chairman amrit kiran singh the black market is operating in the vacuum created by legal alcohol retail shops being closed which is becoming an additional menace for the police forcebengal allows home deliveryone state has relented west bengal will allow home delivery of alcoholic beveragestill the lockdown period liquor will be sold on home delivery basis from shops having valid liquor licences and orders can be placed between 11 am to 2 pm said the west bengal government notification nobody can be allowed to come to liquor shop physically deliveries will be made to homes between 2 and 5 pm the same day the liquor shops have to obtain passes for delivery staff from the police and other concerned authorities each store will get a maximum three passesthe iswai said 1530 of all state revenue comes from the alcohol sector money that will be critical as the economy has come to a haltshuttering down liquor stores is selfdefeating as state governments currently need revenue more than ever to fight the pandemic said deepak roy executive vice chairman of allied blenders and distillers abd which makes officers choice whisky second piracy has doubled during shutdown as big brands are being copied and sold in smaller markets which is not safe for consumption and impacts our brand value advt roy also chairman of the confederation of indian alcoholic beverage companies ciabc an apex body of indian liquor firms said a similar representation had been made on april 6if the lockdown continues beyond april 14 abd will lose an average of 8 of turnover per month he said the government must allow normal hours of operation for liquor stores to avoid overcrowding in these times of social distancing the threeweek lockdown is supposed to end on april 14 but its not clear whether it will be extended or in what form this may be donethe ciabc had sent its plea to 10 states asking them to allow the sale of alcoholic beverages during the lockdown the letter highlighted concerns such as the growing sales of illicit liquor leading to health hazards and impact on state revenue besides permitting prescriptionbased alcohol the letter was