20 per cent hike in liquor shop licence fee in Telangana

The licence fee will be valid for two years from October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2017. With this, the government is aiming to have an excise revenue of Rs 12,000 crore this year against the Rs 10,000 crore last year.

However, the decision to raise the fee drew sharp protests from liq-uor shop dealers. They demanded either a withdrawal of the hike or an increase in their profit margin, failing which they would agitate.

In fact, it had been decided at a recent Cabinet meeting to continue with the old policy without any hike in the licence fee.

However, on Friday, the government changed the tact and issued orders raising the licence fee by 20 per cent, drawing the ire of the dealers.

As per new norms, a licence fee of Rs 78 lakh has been prescribed in places where the population does not exceed 10,000. For a population of 10,000 to 50,000, the licence fee is Rs 81.6 lakh.

For a population of 50,000 to three lakhs, the licence fee is Rs 1.08 crore. The fee would be Rs 1.20 crore for a population of three to five lakhs.

For a population of five to 20 lakhs, the licence fee would be Rs 1.63 crore. For a population above 20 lakh, the licence fee would be Rs 2.16 crore.

The TS Wine Dealers’ Association protested against the decision and demanded an increase in their margins.

“Our margins continue to remain at the same levels since 2005 even as the licence fee has been increased manifold over the years. The licence fee in the city was just Rs 12 lakh a year in 2005 which has now been increased to Rs 1.08 crore without increasing our margins correspondingly. We are already suffering huge losses. There were fewer takers for liquor shops even with the earlier fee of Rs 90 lakh per year. Who will come forward to pay Rs 1.08 crore now,” asked association president Venkateshwar Rao.

While the licence was granted annually earlier, it is for 2 years now. The shops will be allotted through draw of lots.