New Delhi, February 06: The consumption of Scotch in the city is on the rise with more than 82,000 bottles being sold in January.
The capital city consumed 6,864 cases of Scotch in January as against 5,462 cases in the same month last year, according to the Excise data. One case contains 12 bottles.
The Delhi Police had on Friday busted a gang that was “manufacturing” well-known Scotch brands in the city and selling those spurious liquor as imported Scotch.
While about 15 brands of imported Scotch (bottled in origin) are available in the city, about a dozen brands of Scotch bottled in India are also available in the liquor outlets across the capital.
The spurious liquor industry manufactures Scotch in both categories — bottled in India and bottled in origin.
However, a senior Excise official said the share of the spurious Scotch in the market is not very high.
“It is because of the constant vigil of the Excise Intelligence Bureau there is a check on spurious industry. But the problem is pan-Indian as organised gangs involved in the trade are active in metros including Mumbai and Kolkata,” said the official.
Currently the city has 435 liquor outlets, 385 restaurants and 45 hotels where Scotch is available.
About the measures taken to curb the spurious liquor menace, the official said, “stringent provisions are being made to punish the culprits.”
The custom and excise duties on imported Scotch are more than 200 per cent now as a result of which the price is on higher side.
The spurious industry caters to the growing demand of Scotch in cheaper rates, said the official adding, “We are considering a proposal to reduce the exorbitant duty on Scotch.”
The city government earned about Rs 140 crore from the sale of liquor including Scotch, wine, beer, vodka, whisky, gin and rum in January.
——–PTI