To cash-crunch Telangana, liquor comes as succour

​Hyderabad: The more the merrier. The new year celebrations are expected to fetch a windfall for the Telangana government which is desperate for resources to meet the urgent financial needs in the last quarter of the present financial year.

The Excise & Prohibition and Commercial Taxes departments have come up with a slew of measures to increase liquor sales and rake in the moolah on the eve of new year in the state, mainly in Hyderabad and other major cities of the state.

Allowing licensed wine shops and bars to sell liquor till late in the night, permitting event organisers to have year-end revelry like musical nights in the resorts and open grounds across the state are among the important measures the Excise department has prepared to sell liquor on a large scale.

The government has targeted nearly Rs 1,000 crore additional revenue during the new year celebrations to begin in the last week of December to January first week in Hyderabad and other parts of the state. The growing culture of people's participation in musical nights and year-end entertainment programmes in other urban areas is an added advantage to the efforts of the state.

The Commercial Taxes department is already permitting event organisers to hold programmes by collecting 28 per cent advanced tax based on the estimated turnover before the commencement of the event. On the events alone, the government fixed Rs 300 crore revenue target. Many corporate companies from across the country also have shown interest to hold year-end events in Hyderabad.

Besides, the Excise department is ensuring the supply of required liquor to the licensed event managements which requested the government for liquor stocks in bulk and in advance. On the eve of new year, the government has also decided to allow wine shops and bars to sell liquor beyond the permitted time.

At present, wine shops are allowed to sell liquor from 10 am to 11 pm and bars can serve alcohol till midnight. The Excise officials have targeted to double liquor sales in the season. Generally, liquor sales fetch Rs 1500 crore in a revenue month. It will go up to Rs 2,200 crore registering Rs 700 crore additional revenue in the year-end season.

On the instructions of the state government, Principal Secretary to Excise and Commercial taxes Somesh Kumar has already held a series of meetings to make arrangements for generating more revenues through liquor sales. Special vigilance teams have also been formed to check any liquor smuggling from the neighbouring states and also curb the flow of non-duty paid liquor (NDPL) in the events.

The teams headed by an official in the rank of Assistant Commissioner (Excise) will keep a vigil on liquor sales at all permitted liquor consuming places. Top officials said that it is a tight rope walk for the newly-formed state government to meet the increasing expenditure on the welfare programmes and clear the long-pending bills to the contractors. The government would have to dispose of Rs 10,000 crore pending bills by the end of the financial year in March. The only option before the government is to generate more revenues. Increasing the liquor sales is the first option before the government to meet the financial needs, the official said.