New Delhi [India], June 27 : The Delhi Government has approved the continuation of the existing excise duty-based licensing regime for liquor for the year 2025-26. The renewed policy will be in effect from July 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026, said an official statement.
An order issued by the Excise Department of the Delhi government states that existing licenses will be renewed without any changes to the existing framework. Renewal fees will vary depending on how promptly applications are filed.
No extra fee will be charged for renewal applications submitted within 30 days. Applications delayed up to 60 days will attract a 25% additional renewal fee, it said.
Delays exceeding 60 days will incur a 100 per cent additional fee, it added.
Earlier, Delhi Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) President Saurabh Bhardwaj had challenged Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta to clarify her stance on the privatisation of liquor shops under the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) upcoming excise policy.
The challenge came in response to Gupta's sharp criticism of AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal in Ludhiana, where she accused him of colluding with the "builder mafia" and failing to curb spurious liquor deaths in Punjab.
Speaking to ANI, Bhardwaj said, "I have a direct question for her (CM Rekha Gupta). BJP objected to the Delhi Excise Policy and claimed that liquor shops had been privatised. Later, the policy was scrapped, and the shops were returned to government ownership. Rekha Gupta should clarify if she will privatize liquor shops under the new Excise Policy. This will reveal who is in collusion with the liquor mafia. She should answer this."