AP liquor vendors decide to surrender licence

HYDERABAD: With the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) turning up the heat on liquor syndicates, vendors across the state have decided to surrender their licences -- which run to June -- and seek a refund of their licence fee for the remaining months.The AP Wine Dealers Association met here on Thursday and unanimously decided to surrender their licences to the government in the context of the relentless raids by the ACB on liquor syndicates and arrests of syndicate members. Some 6,000 vendors have decided to shut operations forthwith, association members said.Further, the retailers have decided take their grievances to prohibition and excise minister Mopidevi Venkata Ramana, who, incidentally, has been named as one of the recipients of bribes paid by liquor syndicates in Khammam district.Liquor vendors are due to pay the next tranche of their license fee to the government on Feb. 20. “We want to clear up the issue before Feb. 20,” said D Venkateswara Rao, secretary of the association.He added: “We cannot carry on with our business with the ACB breathing down on our necks. So we decided to meet the minister on Friday to demand a return  of our licence fee for the four remaining months.’’Venkateshwara Rao said there are good reasons why liquor vendors sell above the maximum retail price (MRP). “We will not be able to stay in business if we sell below MRP because we invested such large amounts to obtain licences.’’ The association also decided to push for a revision of the excise policy.