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UP liquor sellers to get 7 days to clear stocks post lockdown
Meanwhile, liquor sellers said in order to clear their leftover stock in seven days after the lockdown ends, some shop keepers could sell liquor at lower prices.
The UP excise department, which is staring at a loss of nearly Rs 3,200 crore due to closure of liquor shops since the lockdown began, has decided to grant shopkeepers seven days to clear stocks after the lockdown ends.
The stock of those shopkeepers unable to clear leftover quota of last fiscal (the validity of licences was till March 31) would be destroyed, the excise department order says.
Meanwhile, liquor sellers said in order to clear their leftover stock in seven days after the lockdown ends, some shop keepers could sell liquor at lower prices.
As many as 3,711 country-made liquor shops did not take the required minimum guarantee quota (MGQ) of stock in March due to lockdown, forcing the excise department to provide relaxation to such shopkeepers who had approached the department, saying that the closure of liquor shops for over a month has impacted their businesses.
Under the liquor policy, all country-made liquor shops have to necessarily buy minimum quota of stock from the government each month.
Another 1,857 shops (country-made and IMFL sellers), whose renewal had been done and were required to pick two per cent stock above what they had bought from the government last year, cited helplessness in meeting the requirement due to lockdown.
The government has relaxed the norms for them as well.
The excise department is among the highest revenue earners for the state government, raking in Rs 78 crore per day for the state round the year, say officials.
In Uttar Pradesh, more than four lakh people are directly associated with liquor business. “We have been hit due to no sales for over a month. What’s worse is the growing number of thefts that have been reported at liquor shops across the state,” said Kanhailal Maurya, a liquor seller and functionary of liquor sellers’ association.
