Alcohol industry body says members' brands not being ordered in Delhi

The Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC), the apex body of the alcohol industry, has claimed that since early December, the orders for supply for many brands of their member companies have been stopped in Delhi.

Instead, only a select few brands have been categorised as 'popular' and orders for supply of only these brands are being given, it said.

It said that many of companies are not receiving orders for their products from the DTTDC, one of Delhi's four liquor retailing corporations that accounts for almost a third of Delhi sales.

In a letter to the DTTDC, the Confederation said: "We have been informed that since early December, orders for supply for many brands of our member companies have been stopped. Inexplicably, only a select few brands have been categorised as 'Popular' and orders for supply are being given for only these brands."

The letter reads that the current Excise Policy commenced on September 1, 2022 and it is unfair to categorise only a select few brands, within a very short period of time, as "Popular" and then stop orders without any intimation or notice to supplier companies. This has disrupted the business of supplier companies, particularly in ongoing peak festive season, it added.

"We also wish to bring to your urgent notice that companies have paid full year fees, even for the truncated seven months period of the Excise policy in force. You can very well appreciate that such an unexpected and arbitrary stoppage of orders for supply of brands of companies will make recovery of this fee very difficult. It is, therefore, humbly requested that orders for supply should be placed on basis of demand of products in market and not a pre-determined discriminatory list," the CIABC letter to Niharika Rai, Managing Director & CEO Delhi Tourism and Transport Development Corporation, said

Vinod Giri, Director General, CIABC, said: "Many companies have informed us that they are not receiving orders for their products from DTTDC, one of Delhi's four retailing corporations that accounts for almost a third of Delhi sales. It appears that the corporation is placing orders for just about twenty brands and other brands, irrespective of sales, are not being given orders."

"We think that such pre-determination is a form of brand pushing, distorts competitive field unfairly, stifles innovation, and works against the emerging products and new launches. Brands have paid license fees for the whole year despite having only seven months and shutting them out in this manner erodes whatever chance they have to recover the fees."

Giri has also asked for Rai for an industry delegation to meet to discuss the issue in the letter. "We have requested the DTTDC to restore the market-based ordering pattern where orders are placed on basis of sales in retail shops," he said.

The CIABC represents most major Indian companies who manufacture and market their product range in India and abroad such as Radico Khaitan Ltd, Allied Blender & Distillers Pvt Ltd, Jagatjit Industries Ltd, Mohan Meakin Ltd, Alco Brew Distillers Pvt Ltd among many others.