Telangana government-UBL impasse over beer price hike continues

Will not heed to pressure tactics, says Chief Minister Revanth Reddy as UBL appeals to the State to increase beer prices by 33.1%

HYDERABAD: Stalemate between the State government and the United Breweries Limited (UBL) over price hike of Kingfisher beer continues with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy asserting that the government would not heed to pressure tactics.

The UBL has appealed to the State government to increase the beer prices by 33.1 percent. The same was informed to the Chief Minister by Excise officials during a meeting here on Saturday.

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However, the Chief Minister categorically stated that the government would not heed to pressure exerted by companies. He further wanted the Excise officials to examine the prices in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Any decision on price hike would be taken based on the report submitted by the Price Fixation Committee chaired by a retired High Court judge, he reminded. He also stressed that all the pending dues were being cleared regularly during the last one year by the government.

The Chief Minister directed the officials to adopt a transparent mechanism in selection of companies for supply of liquor to the State. The Excise department officials have also been asked to follow a simplified trade policy to supply new liquor brands by the companies, which were already supplying alcohol to TGBCL.

“Officials should follow rules strictly while permitting new companies to supply liquor in the State,” Revanth Reddy said. He directed the officials to issue a notification to receive applications from new companies with a deadline of one month.

It is mandated that the companies should apply with the brand names only. The selection process should be carried out transparently by examining the quality standards and supply capacity of the companies.