Last date for liquor shop license applications extended in Telangana

Telangana’s Excise Department has extended the last date for liquor shop license applications to October 23 due to disruptions from the BC bandh. Though applications dropped sharply from the previous term, higher fees boosted overall revenue.

HYDERABAD: The Prohibition and Excise department has extended the last date for filing applications for liquor shop licenses to October 23 following an appeal from officials. Accordingly, the draw of lots would be held on October 27.

As per the schedule issued by the department, Saturday (October 18) was the last day.

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However, Deputy Commissioners from Rangareddy, Warangal, Nizamabad, Mahabubnagar and Medak informed the department that due to the BC bandh on Saturday, public transport and banking services were disrupted. They urged the department to extend the last date for filing applications to provide a fair opportunity to the applicants.

Surprisingly, there was a poor response from the applicants this term. About 1.30 lakh applications were filed for the 2620 shops across the State in the last term. However, this time till Friday, nearly 50,000 applications were filed and about 37,000 applications were filed till 11 pm on Saturday.

The department had increased the application fee from Rs.2 lakh to Rs. 3 lakh this time. The officials said though the number of applications decreased, the revenue through applications had increased.