Hyderabad: Liquor shops hike booze price to recover high fees

Hyderabad: The price of liquor has gone up by Rs 10 to Rs 30 depending on the brand from October 1 in Telangana.

It may be recalled that the state government has extended the licence period of liquor shops by one month, from October 1 to October 31.

Liquor shop owners have renewed their licences in spite of having to pay turnover tax and VAT at the time of lifting the stock itself. With this, liquor shop owners have paid almost double in licence fees.

To recover this money they have increased liquor and beer price across the state and no one is selling the liquor at maximum retail price mentioned on the product.

There are 2,215 liquor outlets in Telangana.  Surprisingly, in some districts wine shop owners displayed the new liquor rates.

Said a liquor shop owner, “Without increasing the rates, how can we get back our money? We have only one month’s time in which to recover our investment.”

The price of a one litre bottle of Royal Challe-nge whiskey has gone up from `950 to `980. A one litre bottle of Royal Stag whiskey now costs `800, an increase of `30. The price of other whiskey brands such as McDowell’s and Imperial Blue have also gone up.

All brands of beer now cost an additional Rs 20. Mini beer bottles are up by Rs 10 to `15 depending on the brand. Sources said that excise officials are ignoring the MRP violation. Wine shop owners in rural areas have been known to charge more than MRP rates, but this has never happened in Hyderabad.

A wine shop owner in the city said that this is the first time liquor has been sold at above MRP rates in Hyderabad.