In a complete overhaul of excise policy based on best practices from other states, the state government has decided retail of liquor to be privatised with 3,736 retail shops notified across the state. The new policy will take effect from October 12, 2024, as per the notification by the state government.
With this policy, the government aims to provide affordable options to low-income groups. Andhra government has introduced low-priced liquor at Rs 99 or less, aiming to curb the demand for illicit alcohol and national suppliers will be encouraged to introduce their brands at the price-point too, ET bureau had reported.
The new liquor policy is expected to reverse sales decline over the past five years, making the state among the three top markets, ET had reported, citing companies and analysts, as saying.
The policy will have a tenure of two years, promoting stability and predictability in the regulatory environment, which is likely to encourage greater participation from retailers.
Andhra Pradesh’s liquor market had halved over the past five years due to consistent price increases and favoured local players. India’s beer industry body said they expect fresh interest in investments in the state worth thousands of crores as each brewery costs anywhere between Rs 300 crore and Rs 500 crore.The allocation of licences will be done through an online lottery, and four licence categories have been fixed with fees ranging from Rs 50 lakh-85 lakh. The shop owners would get a profit of 20% on their sales and the government would grant licences to 12 premium shops with a tenure of five years with licence fees of Rs 1 crore.The new excise policy could lead to significant market share gains for larger players.
