Prior to his departure on a tour of China, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday cleared the excise policy of the State government for 2015-17 without effecting any changes. There will be no increase in the number of shops but a 10 per cent hike in the annual licence fee of shops has been made. The shops will continue to be allotted by lottery with villages, municipalities and municipal corporations as units.
The present license fee is Rs. 32.5 lakh in villages with a population less than 10 lakh, Rs 34 lakh in Nagar Panchayats or municipalities (10,000 to 50,000 population), Rs 42 lakh for municipalities and corporations (50,000 to 3 lakh population), Rs 50 lakh for corporations (3 to 5 lakh population), Rs 68 lakh for corporations (5 to 20 lakh population) and Rs 90 lakh for corporations (above 20 lakh population).