Lucknow: Around 600 new retail liquor vends could come up in Uttar Pradesh in the coming months. The excise department is conducting an exercise to determine the estimated population that moved to the outskirts of key cities within the past year before finalizing the exact number of new shops.
Objective Behind New Liquor Vends
The primary objective is to cover recently established residential pockets and colonies by providing new outlets. This would help meet the demand for foreign liquor, beer, and other alcoholic beverages while generating increased revenue during the 2026-27 financial year.
Retailers Exiting the Business
Several retailers have opted to pull out of the liquor business from March 31, citing a lack of financial viability. Out of the 27,308 liquor shops that served patrons across the state, 421 (model shops, country liquor shops, and composite shops) did not find takers even after four rounds of lottery draws.
Officials stated that in the fifth round, the original license fees paid during the 2025-26 financial year to run these shops could be reduced by 20% to make operations viable. “The final call is yet to be taken,” said an officer. Available at steep license fees within city limits, many entrepreneurs exited from model shops instead of paying the hefty fees.
Plans for New Shops
In addition to the leftover shops that could not be renewed or settled so far, the department is considering introducing about 600 new liquor vends. According to the excise policy provisions, the excise commissioner has the authority to allow more shops if needed to cover mushrooming residential localities.
“The policy allows the excise commissioner to permit up to a 3% increase compared to the total retail shop number in the previous financial year in a district,” said the officer. Establishing additional retail shops would help the department offset losses incurred from allowing existing shops to operate at rationalized license fees.
Revenue Estimates
It is estimated that through license fees and processing fees, the department generated Rs 4,000-5,000 crore during the last fiscal year. Overall, the department achieved annual revenue of Rs 57,722 crore by levying duty, fees, and other charges on the liquor trade in 2025-26. Having reached a saturation point, the excise department is seeking to create additional revenue streams through new measures.
