Swiggy seeks permission from several states for home delivery of alcohol: Report

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Online food ordering and delivery platform Swiggy is reportedly seeking permissions for home delivery of alcohol from licensed retailers. 

Maharashtra recently joined the list of states to have welcomed the Supreme Court’s opinion on alcohol home delivery services.

Several other states, including Orissa, Delhi, Punjab, West Bengal, Jharkhand have reportedly held talks with delivery services like Swiggy, Zomato, Liqhub and HipBar to under the value proposition of alcohol delivery, according to a report by The Economic Times.

Swiggy is said to be in talks with state governments, assuring adherence to the required safety norms once permitted. Vivek Sunder, chief operating officer, Swiggy, said as per the report, “If the government gives us a green signal … And we are making sure everyone is safe in the process... We will explore that possibility... We are not going to rush into it prematurely.”

"Retail stores pay a big licence fee and this might eat into some part of their business... and since alcohol business retailers tend to be... politically connected...we will have to see how this will weigh,” a top executive at an alcohol beverage manufacturing firm was quoted as saying in the report. 

“Our research shows that facilitating home delivery can potentially double the current collection for states and also strengthen the economy,” said Aryan Solanki of Let’sBuyDrink, which started operations in early 2013 but was non-operational since June 2014 due to lack of regulatory clarity. 

Several state governments have allowed liquor licence holders to home deliver alcohol, further requiring the delivery person to wear a mask and use hand sanitiser on regular intervals. The move comes weeks after thousands lined up outside alcohol stores as the government permitted the sale of liquor.