The Andhra Pradesh government has notified the new Excise Policy for 2024-26, allowing private retailers to sell liquor. The policy, which is a massive overhaul of the existing one, will come into force from October 12, and specifies retail margins for private establishments and licence fees, among other details. The government has also notified guidelines for issuance of licences to private individuals for selling liquor.
Under the revamped policy, the government has notified a total of 3,736 retail outlets to sell liquor across the State. Of these, 3,396 outlets will be in the open category, while 340 outlets will be reserved for allocation to toddy tappers. Twelve outlets will be in the โPremium Shopsโ category. These premium outlets, which will come up in urban areas, will stock high-end brands and accessories.
Existing government-run liquor outlets have been permitted to sell liquor till October 11. after which they will be taken over by private establishments.
Mukesh Kumar Meena, Principal Secretary, Excise Department, issued a series of Government Orders on September 30, detailing the rules governing the new policy. The margin for retailers has been set at 20%.
A separate notification and guidelines for issuance of licence will be issued for the 340 shops earmarked for toddy tappers and Premium Stores.
The excise policy mandates that the privilege of selling of Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and Foreign Liquor (FL) by Shop will be granted to private persons or entities by inviting applications from the public for participating in the selection process. The licence, once approved, will be valid from October 12, 2024 to September 30, 2026.
A dedicated website โ https://hpfsproject.com โ been hosted to receive applications from interested candidates.ย Applications can also be submitted offline in the prescribed format with a non-refundable application fee of โน2 lakh. The procedure for online and offline applications would be set out in the district gazette notifications. Candidates may submit any number of applications for any number of shops for participation in the selection process through online or offline mode.
The policy has also mandated Retail Excise Tax (RET) slabs for the license period starting from โน50 lakh to โน85 lakh, depending on population size. The RET will be increased by 10% for 2025-26. The government is allowing the license holders to pay the RET of the year in six advance installments. Business hours will be allowed between 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. ย Under the policy, certain areas in Tirupati have been barred from establishing liquor shops.
Monitoring systems
All liquor outlets shall install CCTV cameras at the payment counters and within the licenced premises as prescribed, with the cameras linked to the Command Control Centre of the Prohibition & Excise Department. Transportation of IMFL and FL stocks from the APSBCL wholesale depots to the shops by licencees shall be done by GPS-tracking enabled vehicles only.
Published – October 01, 2024 08:41 pm IST
