VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh government has issued excise rules for implementation of the new bar policy in AP from September 1 for a period of three years.
Prohibition and excise department issued GO 527 dated 13-07-2022 and published it in the extraordinary issue of AP Gazette on Thursday. State government has accordingly fixed the license fee and non-refundable registration charges per annum.
For population up to 50,000, license fee for liquor outlets is ₹5 lakh and non-refundable registration charge is ₹15 lakh. For population between 50,000 to 5,00,000, licence fee is ₹5 lakh and non-refundable registration charge is ₹35 lakh. For population above 5,00,000, licence fee is ₹5 lakh and non-refundable registration charge is ₹50 lakh.
For bars, the annual license fee and annual non-refundable registration charge for each of the licenses will be enhanced by 10 percent every year.
For three star and above hotels and microbreweries, license fee shall be ₹5 lakh and non-refundable registration charge is ₹50 lakh per annum, with an increase of 10 percent on both license fee and registration charge every year.
Special chief secretary for excise Rajat Bhargava said on Thursday that AP State Beverages Corporation is following 181 standards for distribution of liquor. He maintained that they are permitting sale of liquor only after subjecting it to several tests in chemical labs.
AP presently has 840 bars.
