Telangana nets over Rs2,600 cr as application fee for liquor shops

Hyderabad: In a new record of sorts, the government of Telangana has earned a revenue of Rs 2,639 crore as application fee for allotment of liquor shops in the state.

A total of 1,31,954 applications have been received for the 2,620 liquor shops in the state. The Excise Department earned the money without even selling a single liquor bottle. The record revenue was earned in the form of a non-refundable application fee. The liquor shops will be allotted by draw of lots on August 21. The Excise Department will grant licenses for operating the shops from December 1, 2023 to November 2025. Over 1.31 lakh liquor traders applied for licenses across the state. This is an all-time high number of applications since the formation of Telangana state in 2014.

During the last round of licenses in 2021, the government had received 69,000 applications. It had earned Rs 1,350 crore under non-refundable application fee and Rs 3,500 crore though shop license fee. Under the new liquor policy 2023-25, the non-refundable fee for each application has been fixed at Rs 2 lakh. The license fee for per annum per shop is in the range of Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1.1 crore depending on the population of the area. Eligible applicants have to submit 25 per cent of the amount as excise tax for one year.

The yearly special retail excise tax per annum will be Rs.5 lakh. The licenses will be issued for 2,620 shops across the state.