Odisha govt grants permission for home delivery of liquor

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has allowed home delivery of liquor during the lockdown period.

It directed the district collectors to take appropriate decision in this regard keeping in view the situation in their respective districts.

“After careful consideration and in exercise of the powers conferred by Section-93 of the Odisha Excise Act-2008, Government have been pleased to delegate the decision of introducing home delivery of liquor by IMFL ‘OFF’ / ‘ON’/ C.L / O.S shops as well as by food aggregators during the lockdown period to Collectors who will take appropriate decision in this regard in their respective districts after taking into consideration the prevailing situation,” Excise secretary SK Lohani said in a letter to the Excise Commissioner.

The guidelines of Excise Department issued on 23.05.2020 regarding home delivery of IMFL / Beer and guidelines issued on 29.06.2020 regarding home delivery of C.L / O.S liquor will be followed.

All the depots of Odisha State Beverages Corporation Limited (OSBC Ltd) will operate during this period for wholesale trade between 6:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M.

In May 2020, the state government had allowed two food aggregators – Zomato and Swiggy to deliver liquor under several municipal corporation limits.

HipBar, India’s first specialised alcoholic beverages delivery app, was also allowed for home delivery of liquor in several places of the state.