Alcohol Smuggling in Delhi, India

Criminal justice officials in India estimate that alcohol smuggling for the purpose of avoiding duties costs the Delhi government up to $40 Million (250 Crore) per year.

There is a 60 percent tax on liquor in Delhi. Smugglers purchase bottles of alcohol in the state of Haryana for $35 (2,200 Rupees), where it is sold for $56 (3,500 Rupees) in Delhi.

Between April and December 2013, security officials seized 140,000 bottles of smuggled alcohol during the course of 520 enforcement raids.

Source:  Kumar Vikram, “Murdered by the liquor mafia: How thriving Delhi bootleggers pose a lethal risk to the excise department,” Mail Online India, January 1, 2014.