Zomato may deliver liquor amid lockdown

New Delhi : Indian food delivery company Zomato is planning ways to deliver alcohol to people at home, according to a document seen by news agency Reuters.

Zomato had recently expanded its wings to grocery delivery as the movement of people came to a halt for restaurants and people also hesitated in ordering food online amid lockdown.

Alcohol stores, closed nationwide on March 25, were allowed to re-open this week, generating queues of hundreds of people outside some outlets in some cities and leading to baton charges by police to enforce social distancing protocols.

To discourage people from queing outside the liquor shops, Delhi imposed a hefty 70% tax on the liquor. While, Mumbai closed down its liquor shops within two days.

There is currently no legal provision for home deliveries of alcohol in India, something that industry body International Spirits and Wines Association of India (ISWAI) is lobbying to change in conjunction with Zomato and others.

“We believe that a technology-enabled home delivery based solution can promote responsible consumption of alcohol,” Mohit Gupta, Zomato’s CEO for food delivery, wrote in a business proposal to ISWAI.

The legal age for drinking alcohol varies from state to state, ranging between 18 and 25 years.Zomato would target “areas that are relatively less affected by COVID-19,” Gupta wrote in the unpublished document, submitted to ISWAI in mid-April and seen by Reuters.