Liquor sale: Memos issued to Excise officials not meeting targets

The pressure is so much that about 30 excise circle inspectors were reportedly issued memos for not achieving the target in their respective jurisdictions

Hyderabad: The cash-strapped Congress-led government, desperate for resources to meet urgent financial needs, is exerting pressure on excise officials to increase sales in their respective jurisdictions.

The pressure is so much that about 30 excise circle inspectors were reportedly issued memos for not achieving the target in their respective jurisdictions.

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Sources say the State government has set a target to collect Rs. 45,000 crore through the sale of liquor during the current financial year and to achieve the goal it was pressurising the excise officials to increase sales.

It is learnt that district wise targets have been assigned to the Excise officers. Every official has been asked to increase the sale of liquor from 10 percent to 25 percent depending on the nature and scope of the excise station.

The senior officials of the excise department have reportedly started issuing memos to officials, who are not able to achieve targets given to them. It is learned that 30 Excise Circle Inspectors have received memos in the past two months stating that their performance was not up to mark.

They were reportedly warned that if they do not achieve the target given to them then they would be transferred to loop line areas. As a result, the excise officials were reportedly encouraging the sale of liquor through belt shops and other means.

The excise officials noted that the sales in about 18 districts were lagging in the first week of this month and prepared a sales report station wise in the respective districts and memos were issued to station officials who have minus sales.

In order to achieve the target, the excise officials have reportedly suggested to the government to stop targeting belt shops and allow them to operate freely so that sales could be increased in the rural areas. It is believed that over 1.70 lakh belt shops are illegally operating in the State, especially in the rural areas.

According to Telangana Wine Dealers’ Association president D Venkateshwar Rao, the excise officials were comparing the sale of liquor of every outlet and asking them to lift more stocks so that sales could be improved.

“It has become a routine practice by the excise officials to exert pressure on wine shops to lift more stocks. Suppose a wine shop has done business of a certain amount last year, he is being asked to lift 10 to 15 percent more stock this time,”he said.

Meanwhile, the State government is also mulling over a hike in liquor prices to overcome its revenue deficit. The government was expected to increase liquor prices by 10 percent to 15 percent with 20 percent being the outer limit on all varieties of liquor.

The government was planning to increase the prices of beer by Rs. 20 and quarter bottle liquor by at least Rs. 20 to Rs.70. The prices of full bottle liquor was likely to increase by Rs. 70 to 300. Currently about 2,620 A4 liquor shops and 1200 bars and clubs are operating in the State.

In Telangana revenue from liquor sale doubled from Rs. 2,703 crore in 2015-16 to Rs. 31,225 crore in 2023-24. For 2024-25, the State government had projected a revenue of around Rs.45,000 crore from liquor.