Delhi saw liquor sales worth over Rs 245 crore in December last week

The national capital saw a sharp increase in liquor sales, during last week of December, with over 1.37 crore bottles of alcoholic beverages worth more than Rs 245 crore sold during the Christmas and New Year celebrations, officials have said. In 2022, more than 1.14 crore liquor bottles worth over Rs 218 crore were sold in the Christmas and New Year week, an official data showed. The Christmas eve on December 24, 2023, registered a sale of 19.24 lakh bottles worth Rs 34.17 crore.

Liquor buyers also purchased more than 24 lakh liquor bottles worth Rs 47.99 crore on the New Year eve on December 31, 2023. Last year, the sale of liquor on the New Year eve was 20.30 lakh bottles worth Rs 45.28 crore, data showed.

"The growth in sale of liquor during the festive season in 2022 was reflective of the improvements in supply and brand availability," said a senior excise department officer. Data has revealed that the sale of liquor on December 24, 2023, was 19.42 lakh bottles, 15.91 lakh bottles on December 25, 13.61 lakh bottles on December 26, 15.91 lakh bottles on December 27, 15.02 lakh bottles on December 28, 16.08 lakh bottles on December 29, 17.79 lakh bottles on December 30 and 24 lakh bottles on December 31 respectively.

In 2023, the excise department earned a revenue of Rs 614.94 crore as excise duty and VAT in December, Rs 577.98 in November and Rs 696.53 crore in October. In 2022, the earning was Rs 559.98 crore in December, Rs 631.22 crore in November and Rs 534.46 crore in October, data showed. In 2022-23 financial year, the revenue collection from excise sales was Rs 6,821 crore that is projected to be Rs 7,365 crore in 2023-24, officials said. 

(With PTI inputs)