AP’s New Excise Policy to Involve Private Players

Later, at a separate programme, the minister vowed efforts to ensure supply of quality liquor at affordable price.

Excise sources say that the state government will take up a study on the old system of allowing private agencies to sell liquor and come up with an excise policy from October 2024. Sources from excise say that roping in private agencies through an auction will help the state government earn good revenue in the form of non-refundable deposit, fee and others and the private agencies will be permitted to sell brands of liquor and beer which are in high demand. At present, AP has 2,934 government retail liquor outlets and it gets daily revenue ranging from Rs 60-70 crore per day on an average. Moreover, there is a proposal to merge both the excise and SEB as it was divided earlier by the previous YSRC regime with a purpose to tackle excise crimes. At present, excise department has 30 per cent of staff while SEB has 70 per cent staff. Out of a total staff of around 6,000, nearly 4,000 personnel have been drafted to SEB and such a huge strength of SEB personnel are under the control of 18 IPS officers, two DSPs and a few inspectors.

The excise officers drafted to SEB have been raising a hue and cry against the domination of the police and even as the cases are detected by the SEB officers, the police are having advantage to book cases and claim credit. Several associations of officers from the prohibition and excise department are getting ready to approach the government with a request to announce the new excise policy with private agencies to sell liquor and to scrap the SEB and merge it with excise department so that it gets strengthened from its 30 per cent strength and to ensure sale of liquor properly by the private agencies.

A senior officer from AP Prohibition and Excise Gazetted Officers Association said, “We are planning to approach the government with a request to restore old excise policy with private agencies to sell liquor, scrap SEB and merge it with excise department for proper enforcement so that it will help the state earn good revenue. Moreover, old liquor traders who either moved to neighbouring states like TG or switched to other business, will come back and take up liquor business in AP.”