Demonetisation gives wine shops a bad hangover, liquor addicts have a tough time

VISAKHAPATNAM: The demonetisation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes has hit the liquor business hard in North Coastal Andhra Pradesh, with the sale figures dropping substantially, affecting the excise revenue generated from the region.

According to officials of Excise and Prohibition Department in Visakhapatnam, the district usually clocks a sale of more than 3 lakh cases of IML per month, which means approximately 1 lakh cases in 10 days, apart from  2 lakh cases of beer.

Post-demonetisation— between November 9 and 18 — the district has witnessed a sale of only 79,697 IML cases and 43,524 beer cases. According to the officials, the first two to three days after the Central government’s move, the liquor outlets accepted Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes on condition that the customers had to buy for the full amount. And this kept the sale statistics better immediately after demonetisation. But gradually, the shops stopped accepting the demonetised tender and the sales plummeted.

“Since the outlets refused to accept the banned currency notes, the sale is on a continous decline. The outlets say that the sales have come down by 30 to 40 per cent in the past one week,” ACP, Department of Prohibition and Excise (Enforcement) SVN Babji said.

Visakhapatnam district has 123 bar and restaurants which serve liquor, apart from 363 wine shops. Of them, 63 wine shops and around 80 bar and  restaurants are in the city limits.  Sources said that there are a number of bars and restaurants which accept cards, but a very few wine shops have that facilities. The officials say the situation in  Visakhapatnam district is even worse as the sales have dropped by over 40 per cent. “Our customers are mostly daily wagers and the youth, most of whom do not use debit/credit cards. So, no use of having a swiping machine. However, we are losing on the sale as cash shortage stops them from spending on liquor,” says Ch Manikyalu, a wine shop owner at Isukathota.

In general, a wine shop at a busy centre makes a sale of Rs 1.5 lakh per day, but for the one last week, the figures never crossed the Rs 1 lakh mark.  Wine shops in normal areas, which used to make Rs 1 lakh each per day, are now losing out on the sales. In Srikakulam , the situation is no different. “The district witnessed a drop in the sales figures by 20 to 25 per cent since demonetisation,” Deputy Commissioner, Department of Prohibition and Excise (Srikakulam) Surendra Prasad says. The district has 234 wine shops and 15 bars and  restaurants. And hardly does a wine shop or a bar has the facility of swiping machines.
Sources said that due to demonetisation, some bars and restaurants are introducing them now.