TDP-led NDA Govt readying stage to launch new excise policy on Oct 1

Action will certainly be taken for causing such a huge loss to the exchequer, adding details will be sought from the Health Department on how many people suffered from serious health ailments due to consumption of spurious liquor - AP Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu

Booze Brief:

♦ IMFL sale to be withdrawn

♦ Popular brands sale thru APSBC

♦ Bar permits to end on Sept 30

♦ ED to help track YCP money trail

Vijayawada: TDP-led NDA Government in Andhra Pradesh has launched an exercise to unveil new excise policy on October 1 with thrust on increasing revenue and dispensing with the sale of select brand of liquor brands at IMFL outlets.

Official sources told Bizz Buzz that the new government will withdraw the policy of selling liquor by the government at the IMFL outlets in both urban and rural areas. It is speculated that going by the statements by the ruling coalition leaders and officials, the policy introduced by the YSRCP will be withdrawn and popular brands will be allowed for sale through the AP State Beverage Corporation by tweaking the existing excise policy. There was a meeting between Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Excise Minister Kollu Ravindra and top officials at the Secretariat to discuss the knitty-gritty of the new policy.

The permits given for bars are scheduled to end on September 30. Before that the new policy will be finalised. A senior official of the Excise Department said the thrust of the government is to supply premium quality liquor and increase revenue while creating awareness on health complications being caused to the public due to consumption of alcohol. The government has already declared a war against ganja and narcotics smuggling with the decision of Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha to directly monitor the crackdown on drug and ganja peddlers. The excise revenue, which was Rs17,473 crore in 2019-20 almost remained the same in the subsequent year at Rs17,890 crore. It went up to Rs21,432 crore in 2021-22 and Rs23,785 crore in 2022-23. On an average, the liquor worth Rs75 crore to Rs80 crore is being sold on normal days barring weekends, public holidays and festival days.

After releasing a white paper on the alleged irregularities committed in the liquor policy followed by the YSRCP regime in the just-concluded Assembly, the Chief Minister ordered a CID probe into the wrong-doings committed during 2019-24 and sought the support of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to look into the money trail.

Naidu said the support of ED will be sought as liquor was sold accepting the payments only in cash but not without any online payments. The Chief Minister said that the State had suffered a loss of Rs18,860.51 crore with the change in liquor policy after the YSRCP came to power in 2019.

Naidu said action will certainly be taken for causing such a huge loss to the exchequer, adding details will be sought from the Health Department on how many people suffered from serious health ailments due to consumption of spurious liquor. Expressing serious concern that the economic condition of the State is very alarming, the Chief Minister stated that a detailed study will be conducted on this.

TDP described the promise of declaring prohibition by the YSRCP in the run-up to 2019 elections and the reduction of liquor shops from 4,380 shops 2,934 as an eye-wash. Within one year the number was increased to 3,392. The percentage of consumers of liquor increased to 6.23 which was 5.55 between 2019 and 2020, he said. The consumption increased drastically, the Chief Minister explained.

The Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB) system was brought in through GO No. 41 only to check illegal transport of liquor, drugs and ganja but the percentage of ganja smuggling went up by 27, while the non-duty paid liquor percentage increased to 66 and the number of arrests too went up to a whopping 161 per cent, he said.