Booze biz battle by bar owners, wine shop dealers dents TG Excise coffers

Hyderabad: While Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has set huge targets to increase the tax money through liquor sales, the largest revenue generating state Excise and Prohibition wing has lost grip in the management of liquor sales. Licensed wine shops and bar and restaurants were resorting to the violation of the excise policy, causing revenue losses to the state exchequer.

The bar owners already opened retail liquor sale counters without permission and are selling liquor above MRP. The licensed wine dealers are opening bars in the guise of permit rooms. The trouble began when the Bar Owners Association lodged a complaint with the Excise authorities against the opening of big permit rooms by the wine dealers. The Bar dealers argued the big permit rooms in the premises of wine shops badly affected the liquor sales in the nearby bar and restaurants. They said that bars were already facing losses due to restrictions imposed by the government in the sale of liquor. The bar industry has collapsed after the mushrooming of the permit rooms.

Some bars were already closed, unable to face the competition from the wine shops which serve liquor at MRP prices in the permit room. The bar dealers said that they reduced the margin to improve the liquor sale but the consumers preferred permit rooms over bars in Hyderabad and many other Municipal corporations. The Bar and restaurant industry would be wiped out if the government did not take corrective measures.

As a result, the government is already incurring huge revenue loss after closure of the bars.

The Wine Dealers associations is worried that the bar dealers will open retail liquor sale counters in the same premises.

The previous BRS government issued orders permitting the bars to sell liquor in bottles. The retail counters were selling liquor above the MRP and the excise wing was not taking any action against those who violated the MRP act. The wine dealers said that it would be a tough situation to run the wine shop by paying hefty annual fees if the bars run the retail outlets.

“Some excise officials were supporting the bars by taking bribes. The officials were not paying heed to wine shop dealers’ request to close the retail counters. The wine dealers are the major contributors to the state exchequer and their plights and concerns are completely ignored”, a wine dealers association leader lamented. The entire episode should be reviewed by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and find an amicable solution before things get bad to worse in the liquor trade in the state.