Maharashtra to end 50-year freeze on new liquor licences

The Maharashtra government is set to lift its nearly five-decade-old freeze on issuing new liquor shop licences. Introduced in 1974, the cap has kept the number of retail liquor outlets stagnant at 1,713 across the state. Now, 328 new wine shop licences are expected to be issued under the revised excise policy.

According to media reports, the move aims to bolster the state’s revenue as it grapples with the financial demands of ambitious welfare programmes, such as the ‘Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin’ scheme. Maharashtra’s Excise Department, which already contributes around ₹43,000 crore annually, is projected to generate an additional ₹14,000 crore per year if the new recommendations are fully implemented.

As reported, the Additional Chief Secretary of the Excise Department, justified the expansion, stating, “This expansion is both reasonable and necessary, given Maharashtra’s population and geography.” The state currently has just 1.5 liquor shops per one lakh people, well below the national average of six.

Under the new model, licences will be leased rather than sold outright. This approach lowers entry barriers, requiring a non-refundable deposit of ₹1 crore per licence, significantly less than the ₹10 crore market rate for existing ones. The state expects to earn ₹35 crore annually through leasing fees alone.