Kerala State Beverages Corporation Limited (BEVCO) has once again put forward a proposal to deliver liquor to customers’ homes through online sales. This time, the push reportedly comes with an offer from food and grocery delivery platform Swiggy to handle the door-to-door service.
Customers aged 23 and above could place orders, show ID to verify age, and get the same products sold at BEVCO outlets delivered at home. Managing director Harshita Attaluri said that if the government gives the nod, a tender would follow, with the lowest bidder bagging the deal.
Attaluri says the move could ease Kerala’s notorious liquor outlet queues — often stretching into the road and clogging traffic. She points out that Tamil Nadu has about 4,700 liquor shops, while Kerala runs just 283, leading to predictable crowding. Online orders, she believes, could divert a chunk of customers away from shop counters.
There’s also the revenue angle. BEVCO clocked ₹19,700 crore in 2024–25, up from ₹19,050 crore the year before, and the corporation hopes online sales could push those numbers up even further.
Kerala’s liquor sales are still bound by the Foreign Liquor Rules, 1953. For online sales to become legal, the Abkari Act would need amendments, along with fresh rules approved by the state government. Excise department officials say this legal hurdle was why a similar proposal was rejected earlier.
The state had temporarily tried a tech fix during the Covid lockdowns with a virtual queue system and a mobile app — but that experiment ended with the restrictions.
In a latest development, excise minister M B Rajesh says the government will not make unilateral calls on liquor policy, citing public sentiment and political pushback. He pointed out that similar models are accepted in other states but face opposition in Kerala.
While tourism operators and the public have called for less crowded outlets, Rajesh confirmed the government had already turned down BEVCO’s earlier submissio n during excise policy talks. In its latest proposal, BEVCO said it is even developing its own delivery app, but the state has not taken a decision.
The minister also hinted that liquor prices could go up in the near future, adding another layer of speculation to Kerala’s long-running liquor debate.
