HYDERABAD: As the financial year draws to a close on March 31, the Telangana State Beverages Corporation Limited (TSBCL) has directed the excise authorities to ensure that retailers pick up any pending indents, even if depots supplying stocks to retailers do not have a preference for the brand or spirits the shop owners wish to offer to
consumers
.
According to well-placed sources, shops were instructed to lift all their pending indents.
It means that if a retailer has requested for Rs 1 lakh in stock but has not lifted from the depot, he must wrap it up by Sunday. The depots were also asked to work round-the-clock given the closure of the fiscal year.
The directions came after several companies stopped supplying the stocks because the govt needed to clear their dues accumulated from the previous BRS govt tenure as well. Until now, only Rs 1,000 crore dues have been cleared out of Rs 3,500 crore arrears.
"Shop owners provide the TSBCL with indents indicating the amount of liquor or beer cases and the type of liquor they like to purchase from the depots. The stocks are maintained between two parties (retailers and depots) depending on the sales at shops and supply at depots, but this time retailers were ordered to pick up
brands
that are not wanted by the retailers," sources said.
This sort of instructions began last year during BRS govt, but they were communicated orally to retailers. This time, written instructions were given to the depots, asking the local officials to fully implement them.
In the instructions, retailers were only given the option of having an indent balance supply of one beer case, which would cost between Rs 2,000 and Rs 10,000.
This means that if a
shopkeeper
has a
pending indent
of any amount, he must lift
merchandise
, and he can only leave a beer case without lifting or taking it later.
"This means that they have no choice but to lift all the stocks and consumers who go to shops also may not get the brands they wanted," according to an industry expert.
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