New liquor shops: TS to rake in Rs 1.5K crores

HYDERABAD: The state government is expected to rake in over ₹1,500 crore through non-refundable application fees to partake in a draw of lots for setting up liquor shops, by August 18, the last date for the applications. Each application necessitates a fee of ₹2 lakh.

Officials said that the application process started on August 4, but the response has been poor so far, with only 2,100 applications filed, earning the state ₹20.2 crore. They, however, expect the pace to pick up, especially in the last three days, as observed previously.

The state government on August 2 invited applications for setting up 2,620 liquor shops on a two-year licence, from December 2023 to November 2025.

Given the speed with which the process was initiated, political experts are speculating that the government did so to earn revenue for sops in the run-up to the year-end elections.

Also, the enforcement of the model code of conduct for polls may hinder the move, if the Election Commission of India issued the election notification in October.

As per the conditions of the process, each applicant may submit any number of applications, but each application necessitates a ₹2 lakh fee.

During the last auction in 2021, the state government earned ₹900 crore under a non-refundable application fee and ₹3,500 crore in shop licence fees.

Officials said that while the application fee is expected to fetch ₹1,500 crore due to a spike in applicants, the licence fee revenue will remain the same as the fee has not been hiked.