By Express News Service

VIJAYAWADA / VISAKHAPATNAM / KURNOOL /NELLORE: The AP State Wine Dealers’ Association (APSWDA) has decided to approach the High Court challenging the State government’s decision to cancel all the bar licences from December 1 and reduce the number of bars in the State by 40 per cent.

Claiming that the YSRC government was playing with the lives of wine traders by cancelling the licences abruptly, association president Rayala Subba Rao said that the hasty decision of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will lead to a loss of around Rs 20 lakh per bar in the form of establishment charges and other investment.

“Banning liquor is a welcome move. But the sudden decision of the YSRC government to cut down 40 per cent bars at one go is objectionable. With Jagan’s decision, 319 families are going to suffer. We have decided to take legal recourse on the issue,” he said.

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According to the Government Order released on Friday, as many as 319 bars of the total 798 in the State will be closed permanently from December 31 and new licences will be in place for two years from January 1, 2020.

The GO also mentioned that part of the licence fee and the non-refundable registration charge proportionate to the unexpired portion of the term of the licence shall be refunded to the licence holder after deduction of the amount, if any, due to the Excise department.

Stating that the Additional Retail Excise Tax (ARTE) will put an additional burden on them, association president Subba Rao said customers would avoid bars as they will have to pay an extra amount of Rs60 owing to the tax.

“In every move, the YSRC government is killing the liquor business in the State. The ARTE will add more burden on the bars as more than 40 per cent of the customers prefer wine shops,” he added.

When asked about the trend on the first day (Saturday) of implementation of the ARTE, Veera Naidu, manager of a bar in Besant Road, Vijayawada, said that the number of customers visiting their bar fell by 70 per cent.

He opined that running the business will be a difficult task for bar owners.

Speaking to TNIE, a bar owner in Visakhapatnam said they are in two minds whether to continue or quit the business in view of hefty hike in licence fee and prices of liquor.

He said non-refundable EMD (Earnest Money Deposit) of Rs10 lakh was not justifiable. He said those who win the bid have to pay Rs75 lakh for running a bar.

The APBCL will supply only Rs1.5 crore worth liquor to each bar and this comes to around Rs 41,000 a day and with this turnover, it will be very difficult to run bars as they have to pay licence fee, salaries and bear other expenses.

“Following a hefty hike in the price of liquor served at the bar, there will be a considerable drop in footfall.

There will be an additional levy of Rs240 on a full bottle of liquor served at the bar,” he pointed out.

Another bar owner, on condition of anonymity, said though their licence is valid till June 2020, it will be cancelled ahead of six months when the new policy comes into effect.

Though the government promised to return the licence fee, they have to pay the rentals for the rest of the period to the owners as per the agreement.

Expressing dismay over the government’s decision, bar owners in Kurnool district say they have left with no other option but to wage a legal battle. “We are within our rights to continue our business until 2022. Abruptly cancelling it has put us in a bind,” said P Panduranga Reddy, Bar and Restaurants Organisers Association State committee member and owner of Chandamama Bar and Restaurant in Nandyal.

Some bar owners who have renovated buildings in view of their existing licence are also worried. “The State government should consider the appeals of the bar owners to continue their licence considering the huge investments of building maintenance,” said K Sudheer, owner of a bar in Nellore.