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Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has announced that the BJP-led government will soon introduce a new, transparent, and “foolproof” excise policy aimed at increasing government revenue while avoiding social disruption. The new framework will be modeled on successful policies implemented in other Indian states, she told PTI in an interview on Thursday.
“We will bring a new, foolproof policy that is transparent and generates revenue for the government,” Gupta said. “It will be designed in a way that it does not create any problems for the public or society at large. Some states have effective excise policies, and we aim to learn from and implement the best among them,” she added.
The move comes after the BJP unseated the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Delhi Assembly elections held in February. One of the BJP’s key campaign promises was to revamp the excise system, which had been at the center of controversy during the AAP government’s tenure.
The AAP government had introduced a new excise policy in November 2021, which aimed to privatize Delhi’s liquor trade. The policy handed over retail and wholesale liquor operations to private entities, with the government exiting the business. However, the 2021–22 policy faced serious allegations of corruption and irregularities, prompting Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena to recommend a CBI probe in July 2022. The AAP government subsequently scrapped the policy on August 31, 2022, and private liquor outlets shut down.
Following the rollback, Delhi reverted to the old excise system, where the government, through its four corporations, manages liquor sales. Currently, there are around 700 government-run liquor outlets operating across the city.
On Wednesday, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta chaired a review meeting with senior Excise Department officials to discuss the roadmap for the upcoming policy. In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter), the Chief Minister’s Office reiterated the government’s commitment to a “transparent and effective” excise framework.
The BJP government hopes the revised policy will not only enhance state revenue but also restore public trust in the administration and ensure fair trade practices in Delhi’s liquor market.
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