Delhi’s liquor market continues to show a strong preference for Indian-made alcoholic beverages, with Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) recording sales significantly higher than Imported Foreign Liquor (IFL) over the last two financial years. According to data obtained through a Right to Information (RTI) application and accessed by the Press Trust of India (PTI), liquor shops in the national capital recorded substantial sales across categories, with Indian-made spirits accounting for the overwhelming majority of bottles sold.
In the financial year 2024–25, Delhi liquor shops sold approximately 4.14 crore bottles of IMFL, compared with nearly 22.72 lakh bottles of IFL. The difference remained substantial in 2025–26, when IMFL sales increased to around 4.47 crore bottles, while imported liquor sales reached approximately 23.3 lakh bottles. These figures indicate that sales of Indian-made foreign liquor grew year-on-year, while imported spirits continued to account for a comparatively small share of the market.
Festival Demand and Seasonal Trends Shape Delhi Liquor Sales
Festival periods appeared to coincide with noticeable increases in IMFL sales in Delhi. In October 2025, approximately 26.6 lakh bottles were sold, while November sales climbed to nearly 42.3 lakh bottles during the Diwali and festive season. March 2025–26 also recorded higher sales of around 37.9 lakh bottles, compared with approximately 33.1 lakh bottles in March 2024–25, coinciding with the Holi period. These figures highlight seasonal fluctuations in liquor purchases, although the monthly data alone does not establish that festivals were the sole reason for the increases.
The broader sales figures also point to growing demand across Delhi’s liquor market. Total sales across categories rose from approximately 9 crore bottles in 2024–25 to around 9.61 crore bottles in 2025–26. Beer sales increased from about 3.51 crore bottles to 3.76 crore bottles over the same period, while imported beer sales remained considerably higher than imported spirits sales. June 2025 recorded approximately 93.9 lakh bottles sold across categories, making it the highest-selling month of 2025–26 in the reported data.
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Delhi Tourism operates 233 liquor shops offering 1,013 brands, according to the report. Separately, the Delhi Excise Department has designated 98 outlets as preferred vends for accessing popular and premium liquor brands under the applicable P-10 permit arrangements.
For liquor manufacturers, distributors and retailers, the figures provide insight into the scale of Delhi’s retail market, the strong sales volume of IMFL and beer, and the relatively small volume of imported spirits. However, bottle counts measure sales volume rather than market value or profitability. The data also relates to the reported retail outlets and should not automatically be treated as a complete measure of every liquor sale across the capital.
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