Nearly three months after announcing a policy to permit sale of wine in supermarkets and shelf-in-stores, the government of Maharashtra has published the draft rules and has sought suggestions and objections from citizens on the same.
At present, wine is allowed to be sold only through licensed liquor stores and licensed beer and wine stores in the state. The government’s move to permit wine sale in supermarkets had faced severe backlash from the opposition when it was announced on January 27 this year forcing the government defer the decision.
The government had then maintained that it will proceed with the policy only after consultations with citizens, following opposition from several quarters and social activist Anna Hazare.
Following the opposition, the state home department has now issued draft rules, Special Permit and Licences (Amendment) Rules, 2022. The period for people to submit their suggestions and objections to the Special Permit and Licenses (Amendment) Rules, 2022, has been fixed at 90 days, which will end on June 29. The suggestions and objections will be processed and the rules will then be finalised.
As per government estimates, there are around 600 establishments in the state who will be eligible, as per the updated policy. The establishments must set up a separate, lockable shelf of 2.25 cubic metre to store and retail wine. The draft rules also include distance-based restrictions for granting the licence. Supermarkets within a distance of 50 metres (in case of municipal body jurisdiction) and 100 metres from any educational or religious institution or any statue of national personality, 100 metres from any bus stand, station or depot of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation will not be eligible for the licence.
Jagdish Holkar, President of All India Wine Producers’ Association (AIWPA) said, “The state government is taking a democratic procedure to bring in a policy change that will be in the interest of farmers and agro-processing industry. The issue has been unnecessarily politicised by some social activists and politicians who misled people to believe that wine will be sold through kirana shops”.
“Other states in the country are also coming out with friendly policies to encourage wine production and sales. We have always been seeking to treat wine separately from liquor since it is connected to agriculture,” he added.
Maharashtra has around 45 operational wineries. Of these, between 15 and 20 units directly market products, while the rest are bulk manufacturers and supply wines to the bigger wineries. The wine industry boasts of a turnover of around Rs 1,000 crore annually and Maharashtra contributes 65% of these revenues. Most wineries are located in Nashik, which produces around 80% of India’s wine, followed by Sangli, Pune, Solapur, Buldhana and Ahmednagar. The current sale of 70 lakh litres per year in the state is expected to go up to 1 crore litres under the new policy for retail sale, industry officials said.
According to Holkar, the new policy will be helpful for the wine industry since this will make it easier for women consumers to purchase wine from supermarkets and grocery stores. The annual license fee for the shelf in shop will be Rs 5,000 per year. “If wine sale goes up by 20-25% in a year with the new policy, it will benefit in backward linkages including making of fruit wines,” he said.
