Hyderabad: The new liquor policy introduced by the Telangana government has hit traders hard. It has reduced trade margins of the business say wine shop owners. By reducing the licence fee to Rs 90 lakh from Rs 1.03 crore, the government has reduced the income margin by Rs 1 crore, traders add.
D. Venkateshwara Rao of the Telangana State Wine Dealers Association says, “We are allowed to sell liquor stock worth seven times of our license fees. By reducing the licence fee by Rs 14 lakh, the reduction will be almost Rs 1 crore. For sale beyond seven time’s the stock, we have to pay an additional privilege of 13.6 per cent to the government.”
Even raising the price of cheap liquor, which earns the highest margin, has resulted in a loss to the license holders say dealers.
“By raising the per litre charge of cheap liquor from Rs 400 to Rs 420, even cheap liquor margin will be counted among the premium brands,” said Jagdish, another wine shop dealer at the licence auction centre in Nampally Exhibition Grounds.
