For a customer looking to avoid the long queues outside Delhi’s liquor shops, the process has changed, but not quite in the way “online liquor booking” might suggest.
The new Delhi Liquor Booking app allows customers to select their brand and bottle size, pay online and reserve an order in advance. But the alcohol still has to be collected personally from the selected shop.
The system has been introduced by the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC) to ease crowding at its liquor outlets, particularly when shops see heavy footfall. Instead of spending time looking for a particular brand and then waiting for billing, customers can complete those steps through the app before reaching the shop.
The process begins with installing the Delhi Liquor Booking app. Customers can choose the available brand, bottle size and quantity, and then select the DSIIDC outlet from which they want to collect the order. Payment is made digitally through the app.
Once the payment is successful, the app generates a QR code. The customer must then go to the selected store and have the QR code scanned at the counter to receive the order. The system, therefore, shifts much of the buying process online, but does not provide home delivery.
There is also a time limit attached to the booking. The order must be collected from the selected store within 48 hours of booking and payment. Customers can cancel the booking before the liquor is handed over, but returns are not allowed once the order has been collected.
The facility is not available across all government liquor shops in Delhi. At present, it is limited to about 200 shops and outlets operated by DSIIDC.
The age and quantity rules continue to apply. A customer must be at least 25 years old to purchase liquor, while the quantity purchased cannot exceed the limits prescribed under excise rules.
For consumers, the practical change is, therefore, simple: the brand can be selected, paid for and reserved before reaching the shop, while the final handover remains at the outlet. The app is designed to reduce the time spent in queues, rather than remove the need to visit the liquor shop altogether.
