image used for representational purposenew delhi with delhi government formulating a new excise policy to run retail and wholesale liquor trade in the city in 202324 liquor traders have suggested that private players be allowed to open modern alcohol stores to give a good shopping experience to the customersin a letter to the excise minister as well as the heads of finance and excise department the liquor traders have also recommended that the drinking age be reduced in delhi from 25 to 21 and shopping malls and big markets be allowed to have shops open till 1am to ensure the customers dont make a beeline at liquor stores in noida and faridabad advt a delhi government committee headed by principal secretary of the finance department ashish chandra verma is finalising a new policy for the year 202324 which promises to have the best features of both the existing old excise regime as well as the nowwithdrawn contentious excise policy of 202122delhi currently has about 550 liquor shops mostly of a smaller size with customers forced to buy their choice of bottle from behind a wooden counter or some places from behind an iron grillerun by four government corporationsthe liquor traders said the delhi government has so far dabbled in three retail models all government shops all private shops and a mix of government and private stores and the last one seems to be the best onein our fair opinion the existence of both government and private stores is a much better option for the delhi government not only in terms of revenue collection but also to give better facilities to consumers with firstclass infrastructure delhi liquor traders association president naresh goyal saidthe presence of government vends is a must to control the monopoly in the trade the migration of liquor sales from delhi to the neighbouring cities can only be minimised by providing spacious retail outlets in all highend luxury markets and shopping malls offering a wide variety of brands with selfservice facilities he added advt the association has also suggested that the number of dry days in delhi must be in parity with the neighbouring states to curtail possible migration of liquor consumers it has further proposed that the timings of liquor stores should also be in parity with these states vends at high streets markets and shopping malls should be allowed to open till 1am and those at the airport can be allowed to operate round the clock goyal saida senior delhi government official said the committee is carefully studying the excise policies of all states and trying to pick the best features from them as well as the current and the previous excise policy of delhi we have taken suggestions from all stakeholders we are trying to come up with a policy which is suited to a city like delhi the official said by atul mathur tnn published on jan 11 2023 at 0812 am ist telegram facebook copy link be the first