ALAPPUZHA/T’PURAM: The state is preparing the groundwork for reopening liquor outlets with a virtual queue system to manage the crowd, but the tipplers will have to shell out more for the bottles as the government is planning to impose a cess on liquor sale to tide over the massive revenue loss incurred because of the lockdown.
Finance Minister TM Thomas Isaac hinted at imposing the cess on liquor while speaking to reporters in Alappuzha on Monday.
“The Cabinet will discuss the reopening of liquor shops and the cess to be levied,” he said. Kerala State Beverages Corporation (Bevco) MD G Sparjan Kumar told TNIE that the corporation is planning to introduce a virtual queue system at its outlets when they are reopened across the state after the lockdown on the lines of the successfully implemented system at the Sabarimala temple for crowd management.
“The corporation is in consultation with the Kerala Startup Mission for developing a software suited for crowd management at the Bevco outlets. This would enable the state government to track the people who visit the outlets and come to know if any infected person manages to get into the queue. This would also help the corporation manage the flow of people into the outlet,” he said.
Bevco patrons can select brands online
The virtual queue system will also have provisions to select the brands that can be purchased and pay the price online. The person who once buys the liquor will be allowed to buy it again only after five days.
According to officials, once booked through the system, the customer will get an instant message on his/her mobile phone mentioning the token number and time allotted for the purchase, which can be showed at the outlet.
The customer may also take a printout of the message. The system is expected to bring transparency in the liquor sale and discipline in outlets in the state. Unlike the new levy on liquor, the government is not thinking about introducing another cess on petroleum products, Isaac said.
“The cess levied on fuel sale is already high in the country and a further increase will pile more burden on people,” Isaac said.