Commonwealth Games spurs on wine sales rules

The imminent hosting of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi has finally forced a change in the law to now allow wine to be sold in the city.

However, the long-awaited law has a number of caveats with which retailers must comply before they gain permission to sell wine.

Following a statement from a local minister to the media last year about allowing wine sales in the country, the L-53 licence, which was already in existence to allow the selling of beer, has now been amended to include the selling of wine too.

The formalities with which retailers must comply in order to gain a licence include the payment of R200,000 (£2,938) for the licence and stores must have been in business for at least one year.

For a chain of department stores to sell wine, further stipulations include annual sales of R50 million, while a supermarket must have sales of more than R1.5m.

Furthermore, a maximum of 15% of the space within the store as well as a minimum of 500 square feet must be dedicated to the selling of wine in order for an outlet to gain a licence. There must also be a warning sign stating that the drinking of liquor is dangerous to health.

There are now also suggestions that the excise duty will be reined in to facilitate the selling of wine, with some observers suggesting that it will be rolled back to R150 a bottle.

The Commonwealth Games take place in the 14m-populated Indian city of Delhi in October this year.

Jane Parkinson, 21.06.2010