Recently, the Haryana government announced its new liquor policy 2023-24 which allows corporate offices possession and consumption of low-alcohol content liquor like beer, and wine, at the workplace, effective from June 12, 2023.
The government has introduced a new excise policy for the year 2023-24 which will be effective from June 12 and was approved by the Haryana Council of Ministers on May 9.
The new liquor policy will be implemented in corporate offices which have at least 5,000 employees or more and a licence (L-10F) for the consumption of low-content alcoholic beverages, and a minimum covered area of one lakh square feet in single premises.
The notification read, “A corporate having minimum covered area of one lakh square feet in a single premise which may be self-owned/leased and having at least 5000 employees shall be allowed the licence in form L-10F for possession and consumption of low alcohol content drinks (i.e. RTB, Beer, Wine) by their employees on premises.”
“The minimum area of canteen/eatery, where the licence in form L-10F may be granted in such corporate office, must not be less than two thousand square feet”, it read.
Director General of Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC), said, Vinod Giri, “In India, work and alcohol together are not encouraged by most workplaces.”
“For the policy to take off, mindsets have to change, even though this is a positive step by the state government”, Vinod Giri added.
Since the implementation of the policy, there have been no applications for licenses. However, the policy isn’t taking off because of cultural barriers, strict criteria, and the easy availability of liquor vends. Moreover, no one has applied for the licenses necessary to permit offices to serve alcohol on-site.
“The policy is progressive and aimed at setting a new precedent, it is seeing slow take-off, and it may not be a contributor to volume sales if cultural mindsets and certain conditions in the policy are not made less stringent”, executives said.
