Stopping liquor discounts 'arbitrary', vendors move High Court against Delhi govt order

New Delhi: A group of liquor vendors on Wednesday approached the Delhi High Court challenging the order issued by the city government which prohibited concessions or discounts by the retail licensees on the MRP of alcohol brands.

On February 28, the city government had announced to discontinue the discount policy on the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of liquor in the capital, saying that due to discounts being offered at the liquor stores, the shops were thronged by a large number of people, causing law and order problems and inconvenience to the local people.

The plea filed by five vendors holding valid L7Z licenses, through Advocates Sanjay Abbot, Tanmaya Mehta and Honey Uppal challenged the order passed by the Department of Excise, Entertainment and Luxury Tax of the Delhi government.

Clause 3.5.1 of the tender in its last line states "The licensee is free to give concession, rebate or discount on the MRP", read the plea. It said "For that, the impugned decision of the Respondent completely takes away the Petitioners right to take business decisions with regard to discounts/concessions/rebates which the petitioners were otherwise empowered to take under the new excise policy and tender documents. 'Clauses' such as giving discounts formed an essential part of the new excise policy scheme. Hence, the order to discontinue/withdraw an important clause is in complete contradiction to the letter and spirit of the excise policy."

Liquor shops in Delhi were offering hefty discounts on liquor bottles to exhaust their stock by the end of March when licenses will be renewed.