Andhra hikes liquor prices twice in the trot as queues expand at stores

25% hike yesterday, another 50% today, both in the form of additional retail excise tax

A day after announcing a 25 per cent hike in liquor prices, the Andhra Pradesh government increased them further by 50 per cent on Tuesday even as people formed serpentine queues at government-controlled liquor shops across the state on the second day of lockdown easing. Both the hikes were introduced in the form of additional retail excise tax (ARET).  

The state excise department has fixed three different rates for the three different categories of liquor as per their existing price points, with a steep hike effected in higher-end products. The government has asserted that the increase in liquor prices was in