Cheap alcohol from October 1

Addressing a press conference in Secretariat on Monday he said the new excise policy would come into force from October 1 and it would be anounced within a week.

The minister holding liquor bottles and displaying them at the press conference to make his point that the cheap liqour brands were not new and the TS government was only trying to reduce their prices by cutting taxes raised eyebrows. Questions were asked if carrying liquor bottles in the Secretariat ws permitted. The minister clarified that the state was not introducing any new ‘cheap liquor’, but only selling the existing brands under “affordable category” for much cheaper rates by reducing taxes.

“Gudumba has been wreaking havoc in villages. Women are becoming widows at a younger age of less than 30 years. To solve this problem, TS is planning to provide 90 ml liquor bottle for Rs 15 and 180 ml bottle for Rs 30. At present, the same 90ml bottle is being sold ranging from Rs 90 to Rs 120 depending on brands. We are planning to slash VAT, sales tax and excise duty on these bottles and sold the same for Rs 15 and Rs 30 for 90ml and 180 ml,” Mr Goud said.

Condemning the allegations of Opposition parties that the government was aiming for huge revenues by selling cheap liquor, he said, "In fact, the government will lose nearly Rs 600 crore per year by slashing taxes. At present, the government earns Rs 1,800 tax on each case of cheap liquor, which will come down to Rs 700.

Despite this, the Chief Minister asked us to give priority to health of people than

revenues. This is not cheap liqour as being termed by Opposition parites. It is affordable liquor beign sold for lower prices by reducing taxes. It's quality is superior to that of gudumba and save people from ill-effects of gudumba."