Industry bodies urge Goa to defer DRS rollout

Leading alcoholic beverage associations have urged the Goa government to defer implementation of the proposed Deposit Refund System (DRS) from April 2 to post-October 2026, citing operational and commercial challenges. The Brewers Association of India (BAI), International Spirits and Wines Association of India (ISWAI) and Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABAC) raised the issue on February 18 during a meeting held with Goa DRS Administration Committee Chairman, Anthony De Sa, senior excise officials and the appointed System Operator.

The Goa government plans to introduce DRS as an environmental measure, requiring consumers to pay a refundable deposit on bottles and cans returned at designated recycling points. While supporting the intent, industry bodies warned that the current framework lacks clarity and is not implementation-ready.

They highlighted pending Unique Serial Identifier standards, potential 25–30 percent production inefficiencies and possible shortfalls of 10–15 lakh cases during peak season. Undefined commercial terms and recovery mechanisms could disrupt supply chains and risk revenue losses exceeding ₹100 crore to the state excise department.

“While we support Goa’s commitment to environmental stewardship, the current timelines for implementation are extremely compressed, causing significant supply chain disruptions for the industry. Beer production lines operate at very high speeds and require substantial reconfiguration for any change including redesigning applicators, onboarding and validating vendors, installing equipment and conducting line trials. Several aspects of the new requirements also await clarification from the Excise Department. With the industry entering its peak summer season, breweries have very limited operational bandwidth to experiment with new configurations. Implementing such changes now could severely impact supply continuity to Goa,” said Vinod Giri, Director General, BAI.

The associations also raised concerns regarding the preparedness and operational capability of the System Operator to execute a programme of this scale. “The current plan of 300 return vending machines is inadequate for a state like Goa and cannot handle the volume of bottles recycled each month. A flat deposit of ₹10 across price points, whether the bottle costs ₹50 or ₹1,000, lacks economic rationale. Further, the appointed System Operator has no prior experience of managing a programme of this scale. There remain multiple structural gaps that need to be addressed,” said Sanjit Padhi, CEO, ISWAI.

The industry welcomed the DRS Administration Committee’s decision to form a joint taskforce with industry participation but emphasised that meaningful consultation requires adequate time. “Hurried implementation without detailed stakeholder consultation could impact state excise revenues in the short to medium term,” said Anant S. Iyer, Director General, CIABC.