The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Licence fee of bars hiked in State

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jul 06, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Licence fee of bars hiked in State

Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD: The State Government has hiked the annual licence fee of bars by a whopping 15 per cent from July 1.

This is the second consecutive year that the Government has enhanced the licence fee in respect of bars across the State. Deputy Commissioner of Prohibition and Excise, P.R.S. Prasada Rao, said the fee last year and the present year as applicable for centres with population in brackets is as follows: Rs. 7.5 lakh and Rs. 8.62 lakh (population less than 10,000); Rs. 9.5 lakh and Rs. 10.92 lakh (10,000 to 50,000); Rs. 14 lakh and Rs. 16.10 lakh (50,000 to 3 lakh); Rs. 16 lakh and Rs. 18.4 lakh (3 lakh to 7 lakh) and Rs. 18 lakh and Rs. 20.7 lakh (above 7 lakh). In effect, bars in all Municipal Corporations and municipalities with population above seven lakh would be required to pay at the rate of Rs. 20.7 lakh.

In the year 2005-06, the fee was Rs. 4 lakh; Rs. 5.5 lakh; Rs. 9.25 lakh; Rs. 11.35 lakh and Rs. 13.30 lakh in the respective categories. These had been the rates since 2000-01 when bars were permitted following lifting of total prohibition on March 31, 1997. Mr. Rao said there was no change in the fee for in-house licences granted to clubs, military canteens and guesthouses of AP Tourism Development Corporation. Event permits would also be continued to be charged at Rs. 6,000 a day.

The Government had collected a licence fee of Rs. 200 crore from 1,375 bars last year. As many as 1,230 bars have renewed licences so far this year.

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