Private liquor shops to be back in state from Oct 12

Guntur: Private liquor shops in the state will be opened from October 12 in the state. The government released notification for the allotment 3,396 of liquor shops for the period of two years as per the new excise policy of the government. Online and offline applications will be accepted from October 1 for the allotment of the shops.

According to the GO, 3,396 liquor shops will be allotted to the private persons in the open category. Another 340 shops will be reserved for allocation to ‘Geetha Kulalu’ (a toddy tapping community) with a view to empower them and promote equity and social justice.

The government will release the separate notification for the allotment of 12 elite liquor shops in state for selling premium brands. These shops will be set up in Guntur, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Rajamahendravaram, Kakinada, Guntur, Nellore, Kurnool, Kadapa and Anantapur or any other city as notified by the government from time to time.

Licences for premium stores will be allotted for a period of five years, subject to payment of retail excise tax of Rs 1 crore per annum with a stipulated increase of 10 per year.

The government has fixed application money at Rs 2 lakh for each liquor shop. A person can apply for more than one liquor shop. Applications are accepting from October 1 and October 9 is the last date. Lottery will be conducted on October 11 for the allotment of liquor shops. Applicants who got shop allotment in the lottery, have to pay a one year licence fee within one day. Private liquor shops will be opened on October 12.

Though old excise policy expired on October 1, due to delay in the implementation of the new excise policy, the government has extended the old excise policy till October 11.

As per the notification, the retail excise tax (RET) or licence fee ranges from Rs 50 lakh for locality with population of 10,000 to Rs 85 lakh per annum for a municipality or municipal corporation having population above 5 lakh during the fiscal 2024-2025.

It will be increased by 10 per cent for 2025-26. The overall exercise is estimated to result in the state government raking in Rs 5,500 crore. The RET per annum shall be paid in six equal advance instalments as applicable for each year during the licence period 2024-26.

As per the notification, the retailer margin will be 20 per cent on issue price across all categories of IMFL and FL, including beer, wine and RTDs (ready to drink).

A cabinet sub-committee of the state government had studied the excise policies of states such as Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh and also took extensive feedback from key stakeholders, before framing the latest policy. It had assessed the performance of the existing policy with respect to public health impact and other critical metrics including revenue generation efficiency, the state government said.