Fix MRP of Liquor brands first, Delhi High Courts directs Delhi Government

Can successful bidders of L-7V and L-7Z licences, as per the new Excise Policy of Delhi for 2021-22, can be asked for advance licence fee, though they have not started business till date and retail outlets are still to come to existence ? This matter was challenged in the Delhi High Court by successful bidders of 16 such licences and Hon’ble Justice Rekha Palli has asked the Delhi Government some serious questions on this.

The counsels for petitioners (licence holders) prayed that till date, the Delhi Government has failed to fix the MRPs of the liquor brands and thus it cannot claim license fee from the petitioners, and that too w.e.f. 01.11.2021 as the petitioners are yet to commence their business, which they can do only after fixation of the MRP and registration of all liquor brands. They argued that the process is yet to start and ball is yet to be kept rolling, the demand of licence fee from Delhi Government is illogical and is liable to be set aside.

Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Rahul Mehra, senior counsel appearing for Delhi Governent, disputed this contention of licence holders and said that fixation of MRPs is an ongoing process. They submitted that the Delhi Government cannot be held responsible for the slight delay in fixation of the MRP of some of the brands as it is the petitioners themselves who had belatedly approached the Delhi Government for this.

Hon’ble Justice Rekha Palli of the Delhi High Court has directed the Delhi Government to apprise the Court the number of brands for which the MRPs have been fixed along with the dates of the fixation, as also the remaining
number of brands whose MRPs are yet to be fixed. The court has also directed the Delhi Government to also inform the Court the number of brands, if any, have already been registered.

The matter is to come up for hearing in Delhi High Court, later today.