In what could be considered as a game changing move, e-commerce giant Amazon secured clearance to deliver liquor in the Eastern state of West Bengal. The news comes according to a notice put out by the West Bengal State Beverages Corp, the state’s authorized agency to carry out online retail of liquor, on Friday. The notice also said Amazon was one of the companies found to be eligible for registration with the authorities.
This move is significant as Indians consume a huge amount of alcohol but online deliveries have been prohibited, until now. West Bengal is India’s fourth populous state and has a population of more than 90 million people. Amazon was invited to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the West Bengal state. According to the estimates by IWSR Drinks Market analysis, the market Amazon is looking to make inroads into, is worth $27.2 billion dollars.
When the COVID-19 pandemic reached India, the Government declared a complete lockdown and sale of alcohol was completely prohibited. When the lockdown rules were relaxed and the alcohol shops were allowed to happen, India witnessed a rush to the liquor stores like never before. Following the reopening of wine stores, some States have allowed Swiggy and Zomato to deliver alcohol and the food delivery giants cashed in on the heavy demand.
Each state sets its own alcohol sales policy. West Bengal last month invited companies to express interest in “handling electronic ordering, purchase, sale and home delivery of alcoholic liquors from licensed retail outlets” to eligible legal-age consumers in the state. Grocery delivery major, Big Basket also won approval to deliver alcohol in West Bengal state.
Let us know if you think India will allow online alcohol delivery in the future.