Panaji: The Goa Deposit Refund Scheme (GDRS) Authority has pushed the rollout of the Deposit Refund Scheme (DRS) for liquor and liquor-based products by seven months to April 1.Under the revised notification, phase I of the DRS will now be implemented from April 1 and all producers, importers and brand owners (PIBOs) dealing in liquor products must obtain registration under the DRS by Feb 28. Registration remains mandatory for placing liquor products in the Goa market from the revised implementation date.A notification issued on Wednesday by the environment department modifies the earlier notification dated June 30, 2026, which had proposed rolling out the scheme from Sep 1 with registration to be completed by July 31.Goa’s plan to print and fix QR-coded liquor bottles under the DRS rollout from Sep 1 encountered a hiccup after the excise department pursued a parallel QR code initiative to track smuggling. With govt departments liquor retailers, bottling companies and stores unclear on which sticker to comply with, and the excise department itself not ready to launch its version by the deadline, govt decided to delay the DRS rollout.While officials claimed that the reason for the deferring the DRS rollout is in order to integrate the two QR code systems into one, some sources said that govt was nervous about blowback from the industry just ahead of the elections.Hotels, restaurants and cafés have expressed doubts over the implementation of the scheme, particularly additional cost for transportation and manpower required to cart the liquor bottles back to collection points.The June notification had brought liquor products packaged in glass, plastic, metal, multi-layered packaging and liquid packaging boards under the ambit of the DRS. The latest notification changes only the implementation and registration timelines, while the scope of phase I remains unchanged.
