In Covid times, one thing that was felt most necessary was home delivery of liquor. Seen from an economic point of view, this is also a favourable arrangement for the state governments because a large part of their revenue comes from the liquor tax. In a country where home delivery of petrol, food, ration, medicines, clothes and shoes is done to far off places, home delivery of liquor is not a big deal, and it will soon start in Delhi. But the remaining 6 states are also keeping an eye on it.
Delivery platforms like Zomato, Swiggy and BlinkIt have made preparations for home delivery of liquor in Delhi. Now, almost three years after the end of Covid, this need of the people is going to take concrete shape. This can also be a game-changer for the entire liquor industry. Let us understand how…
These states made a great plan
This process will soon begin in Delhi. According to ET News, apart from this, Karnataka, Haryana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Kerala have also planned to start it as a pilot project. Kerala had tried it even during the Covid era, but their programme could not have been as successful.
All these states are looking at home delivery of low alcohol liquors like beer, rice beer, mead and wine etc. This can help the state governments to increase their revenue quickly.
Changes in policies and laws.
For home liquor delivery, state governments will have to amend their policies and laws related to the liquor business. Its impact is not only on governments, but on everything from liquor manufacturing companies to e-commerce platforms and customers. To do so, governments also have to face many challenges, where apart from the economy, they also have to take into account the sociology of their local area.
After all, how will it be a game-changer for the industry?
The liquor delivery system can be a game changer for the entire industry. It is understood that if Zomato, BlinkIt, Swiggy, BigBasket and Zepto do this, the gross value of orders placed on their platforms will increase by 10 per cent. This will improve their revenue margin and the reach of the platform will also increase.
From the state governments’ point of view, the state government earned revenue of around Rs 7,484 crore in 2023-24 from VAT on liquor in Delhi. This is 10 per cent more than the previous year 2022-23. Now, if home delivery of liquor starts, the VAT collection by the government will increase faster.
From the point of view of businesses, home delivery of liquor will multiply their sales. Due to this, many businesses will have to compete hard to stay in the market and will have to work on their quality. This will also help in curbing the sale of fake, raw and illegal liquor because people will get real liquor at home. This will also increase the revenue of businesses.
