Andhra Pradesh government is considering to accord permission for setting up three to four distilleries in the State, according to Finance Minister Y. Ramakrishnudu.
In a brief chat with reporters, he pointed out that to meet the current demand in Andhra Pradesh, liquor was being sourced from Telangana and other States. This did not mean that the government was encouraging “belt shops”, he added.
One of the key reasons to accord permission for new distilleries was to offset the loss caused by payment of VAT in other States while procuring.
Mr. Ramakrishnudu reiterated that the fiscal position of the State was alarming although the revenue collections in the last few quarters had improved in comparison to last year. The gap between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in terms of revenue collections had reduced to 1.1 per cent and this too would be bridged in the coming months.
The Finance Minister said revenue collections by different departments were 14 per cent short of the 100 per cent target in the last few quarters. He said the State government had already initiated fiscal prudence measures and decided to reduce non-plan expenditure by 20 per cent.
