Like Delhi, the Andhra Pradesh Government is set to impose a 75 percent prohibition tax on liquor. This move comes after the state witnessed huge crowds flocking the liquor shops as soon as the orders were passed for the opening of it. Prior to this, on Sunday, the state had announced a 25 percent hike in alcohol prices.
The decision followed after the Arvind Kejriwal government in the National Capital announced that an additional 70 percent tax will be imposed on the sale of liquor. Terming it as a ‘special corona fee’, the Delhi government has clarified that this is applied to the Maximum Retail Price of every bottle of liquor.
The 25 percent hike announced earlier by the Andhra Pradesh government was intended at discouraging people to flock the liquor shops and thereby avoiding any physical contact between people. It was also seen as a move to discourage alcohol consumption as the YSRCP government had clearly mentioned its intention to ban alcohol in the state.
On Monday, 2,345 liquor outlets out of 3,468 outlets owned by the state-owned AP State Beverages Corporation Ltd. The liquor outlets were opened across the state in red, orange, and green zones barring containment areas.
40 crores of sales on Monday
According to the PTI news agency, the state recorded a sales worth of rupees 40 crores on Monday alone. The revised rates will come into effect from Tuesday afternoon. The number of stores that were previously reduced from 4,380 to 3,468 is likely to further reduce by 15 percent.
According to the rules issued by the state government on Monday, not more than five people are allowed at a given point of time inside a liquor outlet. The rest of them, in the queue, should maintain a physical distance of a minimum of six feet. The personnel of the shops selling liquor should wear masks and use sanitizers in the shop. The shops should be sanitized using alcohol-based sanitizers.
If in case too many customers show up inside the shop, the local police must be informed. The shop might be temporarily closed to maintain the crowd and can be reopened if the situation returns to normalcy.
Source: The News Minute
