AP to study Haryana model to tackle illegal belt shops

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has directed the Excise Department to study Haryana’s sub-lease system as part of efforts to curb the proliferation of illegal ‘belt shops’ or unauthorised liquor outlets in the state. The directive was issued during a review meeting of the Excise Department, where the CM asked officials to take strict action against such outlets and examine policy measures adopted by Haryana to address the issue.

Officials informed the Chief Minister that the prevalence of belt shops is largely due to the inadequate number of licensed liquor outlets in rural and remote areas. During the review, discussions were also held on the implementation and impact of the new excise policy. As part of environmental initiatives, the department is considering introducing a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS), under which consumers would receive cashback for returning empty liquor bottles.

The CM emphasised that the state’s liquor policy should not be viewed purely as a revenue-driven business, but as a system aimed at ensuring healthy and regulated growth. He called for further deliberation on shop allocation through the lottery system, application fees, liquor identification numbers (LIN), retailer margins and the possibility of exempting bars from the Additional Retail Excise Tax (ARET). He also directed officials to introduce a unique LIN for every liquor bottle at the earliest to curb counterfeit liquor and irregularities, with details such as brand, batch, manufacturing date and time clearly embedded.