Puducherry liquor shops to start sales on May 25

PUDUCHERRY: Puducherry government is all set to reopen liquor shops from Monday in Puducherry and Karaikal regions. The shops were closed for two months following the nation-wide lockdown that was imposed to prevent the spread of Covid-19. However, liquor shops, whose license was suspended or cancelled, for selling liquor illegally during the lockdown will not be permitted to operate from Monday.
Public works minister, who holds the portfolio of excise, A Namassivayam made this announcement at a press conference in presence of excise secretary Shurbir Singh on Sunday. He said, the government decided to reopen liquor shops from 10 am to 7 pm starting May 25. The shops should be disinfected periodically and workers and customers should wear masks and adhere to social distancing norms, he said.
Namassivayam said, “The government has imposed a corona fee as a special excise duty on all categories of liquor to match the price in Puducherry and Karaikal regions at par with Tamil Nadu. The government decided to hike prices in Puducherry to prevent people’s entry from Tamil Nadu to buy liquor. This will help in preventing the spread of Covid-19 in the territory.”
There are 920 liquor brands available in Puducherry and 154 of them are common brands that are sold in both the Union territory and Tamil Nadu. The special fee has been imposed on these 154 brands to match the price in Puducherry at par with Tamil Nadu. A 25% special corona fee was imposed on the MRP of the remaining liquor brands.