The Telangana State Beverage Corporation (TSBCL) decision to provide overdraft facility to liquor stores for supply has led to a surge in liquor traffic in the state. The overdraft facility to bring liquor from the company to the store is significant as most liquor store owners are facing a cash crunch due to the application/bidding process as part of the new liquor policy that will apply for two years from 1st December , 2023.
The general practice, according to officials, is to pay Challan the specified amount of alcohol and obtain supplies of alcohol from company warehouses. However, many liquor store owners are cash-strapped and unable to pay in advance, resulting in shortages of alcohol.
As a “market friendly” move, TSBCL is now allowing an extra 30% on top of the challan paid for by liquor stores, effectively providing them with an overdraft facility. An additional 30% of supply is payable on or before September 30, 2023.
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“The move is timely, as most liquor stores faced inventory issues last week and were only open with about 30% of their inventory open. But now, there is additional supply due to the overdraft facility,” said Amber Patt, a liquor store said the store owner.
The state government received a record 1,31,400 applications for 2,620 liquor outlets in the state, earning more than Rs. A fee of Rs 2,500 crore was collected in the tender process for the new wine policy announced last month.
The new licenses were awarded on the basis of a drawing on 21 August.
