Furthermore, the government has introduced 90ml bottles in the regular category of foreign liquor. In the premium segment, 60ml and 90ml bottles will now be available.
Amid the decisions, the Cabinet has also announced that country liquor, previously sold in glass bottles, will now be mandatorily packaged in tetra packs to enhance safety and prevent adulteration.
“For the first time in seven years, all country liquor shops, composite shops, model shops, and cannabis shops in the state will be allocated through an e-lottery system instead of the renewal process followed earlier,” Excise Minister Nitin Agarwal told reporters on Thursday.
Agarwal said that under the new system, an applicant can submit only one application, and no individual will be allotted more than two shops across the state.
Key decisions on composite shops:
On the introduction of “Composite Shops”, Agarwal said this will allow consumers to purchase all types of alcoholic beverages from one shop.If an existing beer and foreign liquor shop are located adjacent to each other, they will be merged into a single outlet, he said.The government has categorized processing fees into five slabs.
The first category, the minister said, covers areas under the development authorities of Gautam Buddh Nagar, Ghaziabad, Lucknow, Agra, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, and Kanpur, including a 3-kilometer radius around their municipal limits.
The processing fee for country liquor shops in these areas has been fixed at Rs 65,000, composite shops at Rs 90,000, model shops at Rs 1 lakh, and cannabis shops at Rs 25,000, the minister said.
The second category includes large cities not covered in the first category, along with a 3-km surrounding area. Fees for country liquor shops here will be Rs 60,000, composite shops Rs 85,000, model shops Rs 90,000 and cannabis shops Rs 25,000, he said.
The third category covers municipal areas and their 3-km radius. Fees for country, composite, model and cannabis shops will be Rs 50,000, Rs 75,000 and Rs 80,000 and Rs 25,000 respectively.
The fourth category included Nagar Panchayat areas and their 3-km radius. Fees for country, composite, model and cannabis shops will be Rs 45,000, Rs 65,000 and Rs 70,000 and Rs 25,000 respectively.
The fifth category covers rural areas. Fees for country, composite, model and cannabis shops will be Rs 40,000, Rs 55,000 and Rs 60,000 and Rs 25,000 respectively, he said.
