|
‘Anything you can do, we can do better’ is the Mantra for the AAP government in Delhi. It is not surprising then to see them break all the previous records of delaying the annual renewal of excise licenses and registration process for wine to announce the policy for the fiscal year 2015-16 for 7 months whereas in the past the increasing number of months’ delay had become a norm. If the government is hypocritical enough to justify the delay in policy announcements to send the message that it is being anti-alcohol, it is a record worth emulating.
But what is unfair, according to the importers and producers is that the sales are allowed on an ad-hoc basis with payment of registration charges on a monthly basis during the interim period and sales are not affected. The government may justify its inaction and inordinate delays giving several reasons and also stress that the annual license fees paid is still the same, it does cause uncertainty in the business and delayed purchases by the hotels and retailers, resulting in a loss to the businesses and eventually the exchequer. This year is no different.
But this year, the timing of announcement has been untimely and seemingly unfair to the importers and producers. Through a notification a couple of weeks ago, the government announced the new excise policy with effect from November 1. The previous policy was valid till October 15 expired. This means that no sales can take place by the distributors until the new license is applied for and issued and the labels registered for the whole of the rest of the year. Although the registration procedures have been modernised with online registration, it is practically impossible to clear the files in less than two weeks. This means that the labels could be registered by 26 or 27 October, there would be practically no supply before Diwali (it would be interesting to calculate the sales 2 weeks prior to Diwali this year with the equivalent period in the previous years in Delhi) and a significant amount would be lost forever.
Blessings for wine industry and The Wine Park
The new policy has a feature which could be a game changer for the wine industry and might encourage wine marketers to have their own distribution licenses. One such importer is the Wine Park. It is learnt that encouraged by the new policy, Vishal Kadakia, the director of the company declared as the ‘Best Wine Importer of the Year’ along with Brindco at the delWine Excellence Awards last month, has decided to distribute his wines directly in Delhi and is building up a distribution team as well. This will improve his customer service. He wants to make Delhi come to the same level of service as in Mumbai where he is a strong distributor because of his product range, quality and customer service. Out of a total of 85 labels he imports, 65 are planned to be in Delhi, giving the customers a wider choice in the value-for-money good quality segment. Hopefully, more people would be encouraged to market wine and beer in Delhi with the new policy, says Vishal who is one of the few importers focusing only on wines.
Despite the detractors possible reaction that it would not be a help to the importers who need to add spirits to survive in the low/no-profit wine imports, it is the first time that the Delhi government has recognised the difference between Wine and hard liquor and deserves our congratulations for this praiseworthy step that would also go a long way in improving the image of wine as a soft-alcohol. With all the health benefits available with this agricultural product, we are moving in the right direction, though carefully and with one step at a time, assuming the road to successful policy making is uneven and bumpy.
Is there a saying, ‘Sarkar ke ghar der hai andher nahin?!’
Subhash Arora |