No more extension for liquor shop renewals in Andhra; fresh applications invited from September 24

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

Customers at a liquor shop in Visakhapatnam. Fresh applications will be invited for A4 shops that were not renewed for 2026-27. File | Photo Credit: V. Raju

The Andhra Pradesh Excise Department has decided not to extend the deadline further for renewal of A4 liquor shop licences for 2026-27. Fresh applications will be invited for shops left unrenewed.

As of September 23, 3,650 A4 shops had been notified for renewal across the State. Of these, 3,236 shops came forward for renewal and payments were made for 2,906 shops. A total of 2,873 shops paid the Retail Excise Tax (RET) in full, and 33 made partial payments. Overall, 88.7% of the notified shops applied for renewal and 80% recorded payments.

East Godavari topped the payment rate at 97.1%, followed by Alluri Sitharama Raju (94.7%), Sri Sathya Sai (91.8%), Konaseema (91.1%) and Eluru (91%). The rates were 64.5% in Guntur, 68.8% in Bapatla and 69% in Visakhapatnam.

Shops that paid the full renewal RET by midnight on September 23 will be treated as renewed and excluded from the notification for fresh applications. Licensees will get two days to pay annual RET and permit-room RET.

The Gazette notification for fresh applications will be issued on Thursday (September 24, 2026). Applications can be submitted until midnight on October 1. Scrutiny will be conducted on October 3, followed by allotment through draw of lots on October 5.

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.