The Goa government intends to introduce a DRS, under which a consumer will pay a deposit on the purchase of a bottle or can, refundable upon return of the used packaging at designated recycling points
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NAGARA GOPAL
Indian alcoholic beverage industry bodies have urged the Goa government to defer the rollout of its proposed Deposit Refund System (DRS) to post-October, warning that an April implementation could disrupt peak-season supplies, dent excise revenues, and cost manufacturers hundreds of crores due to unresolved operational and commercial gaps.
The Brewers Association of India (BAI), the International Spirits and Wines Association of India (ISWAI), and the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC), held a meeting on February 18 with the Chairman of the Goa DRS Administration Committee, Anthony De Sa, senior Excise officials and the appointed System Operator (SO) for implementing DRS in Goa.
The associations requested the State government to defer the proposed DRS implementation from April 2 to post-October, and to constitute a structured task force comprising industry representatives to address critical operational and commercial gaps in the framework.
The Goa government intends to introduce a DRS, under which a consumer will pay a deposit on the purchase of a bottle or can, refundable upon return of the used packaging at designated recycling points.
In the meeting, the industry bodies stated that while the environmental intent behind the move is appreciated, the current framework contains gaps, and the proposed implementation timeline is not operationally feasible. If enforced as scheduled, the industry may face supply chain disruptions during peak season, potentially costing hundreds of crores to manufacturers and resulting in an estimated revenue loss of over ₹100 crore to the Goa Excise Department from beer and IMFL sales.
In earlier submissions, the associations had highlighted that Unique Serial Identifier (USI) specifications and application standards are yet to be issued, preventing manufacturers from commencing essential pre-building of inventory that typically begins in February. Existing production line applicator systems would require redesign, potentially reducing efficiency by 25–30 per cent and risking a shortfall of 10–15 lakh cases during peak demand.
Meanwhile, they highlighted that high-speed alternatives require up to five months for vendor onboarding, installation and validation, which are incompatible with the current schedule. The industry also noted that commercial aspects such as bottle recovery pricing, payment cycles and turnaround timelines from the System Operator remain undefined, creating supply chain unpredictability.
“The current timelines for implementation are compressed and risk causing significant supply chain disruptions for the industry. Beer production lines operate at high speeds and require substantial reconfiguration for any change, including redeasigning 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 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 appointed 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 in managing a programme of this scale. There remain multiple structural gaps that need to be addressed,” said Sanjit Padhi, CEO, ISWAI.
industry reacts
While the industry welcomed the DRS Administration Committee’s decision to form a joint task force with industry participation, it emphasised that meaningful consultation requires adequate time.
“Hurried implementation without detailed stakeholder consultation could impact state excise revenues in the short to medium term. Hence, we welcome the formation of the committee composed of concerned stakeholders to formulate a fair and transparent way forward,” said Anant S Iyer, Director General, CIABC.
In its previous representations, the industry has requested that the State clearly define commercial terms, assess the impact on market pricing, recovery benchmarks, and payment timelines and grant manufacturers the first right of reuse for recovered bottles.
Published on February 23, 2026
