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Informist, Wednesday, Aug 7, 2024

 

By Narayana Krishna

 

HYDERABAD - The government of Andhra Pradesh today held a meeting with top liquor manufacturers in the country as part of its efforts to restructure liquor sales in the state and plans to bring a new excise policy by Oct 1.

 

Representatives of well-known manufacturers such as United Spirits Ltd, United Breweries Ltd, Radico Khaitan Ltd, Tilaknagar Industries Ltd, Som Distilleries and Breweries Ltd, and officials of privately held multinational companies, met with Andhra Pradesh Excise Minister Kollu Ravindra in Amaravati today, a senior official told Informist.

 

The state excise department has formed committees to conduct a detailed study in states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu to finalise a new policy for the state, and this was explained to the liquor companies, the official said. Once the policy is in place, the procurement process will begin from October onwards, the official added.

 

On Jul 25, Informist exclusively reported that the Andhra Pradesh government is planning to resume the procurement of Indian-made foreign liquor, wines, and beer from reputed companies. Liquor sales in Andhra Pradesh are estimated at nearly 38.5 mln cases a year, as per excise department estimates.

 

The minister explained to the liquor manufacturers the government's plans to stop the sale of illegal and local brands and control the smuggling of top brands from neighbouring states, the official said. The minister assured that the state government is firm on bringing back all well-known brands sold in the state before 2019.

 

Liquor sales in Andhra Pradesh are controlled by the state government, with Andhra Pradesh Beverages Corp Ltd serving as the nodal agency. This agency procures various brands from manufacturers and supplies them to retail stores.

 

After coming to power in 2019, the Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy-led government announced a phased prohibition on liquor sales and stopped procuring liquor from well-known companies with significant market and brand value. This led to an increase in the sale of non-duty-paid liquor and illicit, poor-quality products, besides smuggling from neighbouring states.

 

Industry bodies like the Indian Spirits & Wines Association of India have been lobbying to convince the state government to resume the procurement of liquor from well-known companies and brands and made an open appeal to the newly elected Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.  End

 

Edited by Aditya Sakorkar

 

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