The Telangana government has increased the prices of liquor by 20-25% to mop up additional revenues.
The new prices came into effect today.
The prices of all brands of liquor have been hiked, and this is expected to help the government generate additional revenues of Rs. 6,000 crore to Rs. 7,000 crore annually.
The authorities have increased the price of 1,000 ml liquor by Rs. 120 - the price has gone up to Rs. 615 from Rs. 495 earlier. The price of a quarter bottle has been hiked by Rs. 20. On all types of beer, there has been a minimum hike of Rs. 10 per bottle.
The excise officials checked the liquor stocks at wine shops, bars and pubs on Wednesday night after the day's sales came to an end. All the available stocks are being sold at the new rates from today.
The liquor prices have been hiked for the first time since the liquor policy for 2021-23 came into effect. The prices were last hiked in the State in May 2020, soon after the first phase of Covid-19 lockdown.
The hikes come at a time when the State is facing a fund crunch to continue its welfare schemes as the Centre has tightened norms on loans and market borrowings, and are the latest in a series of measures taken by the State government to mop up its revenues. It recently hiked the market values of lands, property registration charges, bus fares and electricity charges.
The State had generated Rs. 30,000 crore in liquor sales in 2021-22, with the tax income reported at Rs. 12,000 crore.