Dealers want fixed price, allotment by lottery

HYDERABAD: In the wake of the ACB unearthing a scary nexus between liquor syndicates and politicians, the prohibition and excise department is contemplating to bring forth a new policy on retail liquor trade in the state, while liquor dealers suggest a lottery system for allotting outlets with the government deciding the price for each shop.Excise officials found irregularities in the existing policy in allotting wine shops and they came to the conclusion that the present method of auctioning was not framed on sound lines. The new policy they are contemplating is intended to plug the loopholes.Excise department officials feel that owing to the present auction system, wine merchants, after shelling out exorbitant amounts for obtaining licences, are trying to recover the costs and earn profits by resorting to a number of irregularities. In some instances, they are selling liquor at double the price, with protection from excise officials and politicians.As there are a number of allegations that several politicians from not only the Congress but also the TDP are involved in the 'illegal' practices in retail liquor trade, excise commissioner Sameer Sharma and other officials are working on a new policy.Speaking to Express, excise additional commissioner S Vysam Payan said: "It may take about two months. We are examining a number of options including the government takeover of retail business."According to him, the commissioner already had a discussion with wine manufacturers and retailers a few days ago. The licence period of the existing wine shops ends by June next year. There are 6,600 wine shops in the state.Meanwhile, liquor shop dealers are also seeking a way to end the bribes regime as it is posing many problems for them. D Venkateshwara Rao, general secretary of AP Wine Dealers Association, said liquor is an issue which has a bearing on state revenue and hence the government should not take any hasty decision."Obviously, we will be losing our livelihood and have to look for other businesses. We are always ready to run shops for a small margin of two or three percent of total sales. The government also can introduce uniform licensing where the shop price is decided by the government and shop owners are chosen by some method like lottery," he said.