Owning a liquor shop in benami name might not be possible hereafter as the State government is mulling over a proposal to make it mandatory to submit the Income Tax (IT) returns of the last three years by the applicants. Speaking to The Hindu , Excise Minister Kollu Ravindra said the government had noticed that formation of syndicates was eating into the government revenues. “So, this time, the government is emphasising on doing away with the practice of applying for licence by liquor traders in the names of their domestic servants, drivers and others as a cover up for their benami transactions,” he said.
The new system is likely to fetch an additional revenue of Rs. 700 crore this year as against Rs. 11,500 crore last year. There was a growth of 1.6 per cent during 2014-15 compared to 2013-14. The government has plans to improve the growth rate further this year, he said.
Mr. Ravindra said that the government has decided to run liquor shops in each mandal in the State.
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The Beverages Corporation, which would be constituted under th enew excise policy, would run 664 shops in the State as against the total outlets of 4,300.
Dilutions and adulterations of liquor sold at the private outlets would also come under scanner, he said.