Woman turns millionaire through liquor licence lottery
HYDERABAD: A homemaker who invested ₹3 lakh to apply for a liquor shop licence under the excise department’s lottery has become a millionaire overnight. After her name was picked for a shop in Greater Hyderabad, a major liquor trader negotiated with her family and bought the licence for ₹1.5 crore. Though the licence remains in her name, the trader will run the business.
Profits from syndicates
In Mancherial district, a group of seven friends applied for 15 shops and won five in the lottery. They sold two for ₹85 lakh each and the remaining three for ₹3 crore apiece. In Nalgonda district, a family that applied for five shops received two in the draw and sold both for ₹2 crore. Their profit from a ₹15 lakh investment was nearly ₹1.85 crore.
Despite excise rules prohibiting such transfers, a parallel trade has emerged in resale of liquor licences.
Hyderabad sees large-scale renting of licences
In Greater Hyderabad, hundreds of licences have been rented out for ₹1 crore to ₹1.5 crore each. In towns and mandal centres, shops are being sold for ₹80 lakh to ₹1 crore depending on location. In Suryapet district, a man with no experience leased his licence to another trader for half the profits and ₹40 lakh goodwill. A Khammam shop assistant borrowed ₹3 lakh to apply and, after winning, sold his licence to a syndicate for ₹1.10 crore.
Two traders in Mellacheruvu and Huzurnagar swapped shops won in the draw, with one paying an additional ₹50 lakh for the more lucrative Mellacheruvu outlet.
Violations ignored
Excise norms forbid anyone other than the licensee from running a liquor shop, yet officials appear to overlook violations. Applicants, including housewives, unemployed youth and retired employees, view the lottery as a quick route to wealth. For ₹3 lakh non-refundable fee, they hope that “if the lottery clicks, life is set”.
Real liquor traders, meanwhile, are willing to pay crores for licences, confident of recouping several times their investment within two years.
