In the midst of the COVID-19 lockdown, the Telangana government expects Rs 375 crore in revenue from liquor sales.
The calculation was made in a notice sent by the Commissioner of Prohibition and Excise of Telangana to all the District Prohibition and Excise officers and Deputy commissioners of Prohibition and Excise in the state.
They were instructed to collect the fourth instalment of Retail Shop Excise tax. The tax is due for the year 2019-2020 and must be paid on or before June 20.
According to instructions issued, if any irregularities or deviations are found, the licence will be automatically cancelled.
As per the notice, the state is expecting an amount of Rs 375,87,50,000 through the tax collection. Giving a breakdown, authorities said they expect Rs 4,757 lakh from Hyderabad division, Rs 9,351 lakh from Ranga Reddy division and Rs 2,973 from Medak division.
From the Nalgonda division, the state expects Rs 3,916.3 lakh, besides Rs 2,300 lakh from Mahabubnagar division, Rs 1,887.5 lakh from Nizamabad division, Rs 3,900 lakh from Warangal division, Rs 2341.3 lakh from Khammam division, Rs 2,276.3 lakh from Adilabad division and Rs 3,817.5 lakh from Karimnagar division.
The Deputy Commissioners of Prohibition and Excise and district Prohibition and Excise officers are also instructed to submit Daily Situation Report from June 10, 2020 and are to personally monitor the payments every day.
Amid an announcement that the lockdown would continue, liquor stores were opened in Telangana on May 6, including in red zones like Hyderabad, after they shut in March, when the nationwide lockdown began.
While bars and pubs are still closed, people purchasing alcohol have to maintain physical distancing and must wear masks. Liquor outlets have been given strict orders not to sell alcohol to a customer if they are not wearing a mask.
The government also hiked the prices of imported liquor by 16% and country-made liquor by 11%.
This decision was taken to remove the possibility of smuggling liquor from surrounding states, as people from border areas were going to other states amid the lockdown to buy their supply of alcohol.