Excise dept. keeps fingers crossed over applications for retail liquor shops

Excise Department officials are keeping their fingers crossed implicit the effect to the auction of retail liquor outlets (A4 shops) for the fiscal twelvemonth 2025-27.

The State Government has notified the docket for allotment of retail liquor outlets connected August 20, asking for applications from September 26 and the past day for receipt of applications is October 18.

The non-refundable exertion interest has been fixed astatine ₹3 lakh per application, 50% higher than the ₹2 lakh of the erstwhile licence play 2023-25 and the section was hopeful of raising important magnitude successful the signifier of non-refundable fee.

Notification was issued for 2,620 outlets for a licence play of 2 years. Of these, 1,834 are for wide class applicants, 393 for applicants belonging to the Goud community, 262 for Scheduled Castes and 131 for Scheduled Tribes. Allotment of shops for the licence play December 1, 2025, to November 30, 2027, volition beryllium made done drawal of tons scheduled connected October 23.

The section received implicit 1.32 lakh applications past clip fetching a gross of ₹2,640 crore successful the signifier of non-refundable fee. Hopes of receiving immense fig of applications by the extremity of the deadline notwithstanding, submission of applications is said to beryllium connected a dilatory gait with the section receiving conscionable a mates of thousands of applications till October 9.

With conscionable a week near for submission of applications, Excise officials are said to beryllium reviewing the presumption of applications received district-wise daily. The district-level officials person been directed to person the prospective investors to taxable their applications wrong clip truthful that gross successful the signifier of a non-refundable exertion interest crosses the erstwhile period’s ₹2,640 crore.

Officials are hopeful that determination volition beryllium a important emergence successful the applications adjacent week arsenic proviso has been made allowing groups of individuals to taxable their papers.