Alcobev industry bodies write to Telangana CM over ₹2,985 crore in pending dues

Industry associations representing India’s alcoholic beverage companies have written to Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy seeking immediate clearance of long-pending dues of ₹2,985 crore, warning that continued delays could disrupt supply in the state.

Companies such as United Breweries, Heineken, Diageo, Pernod Ricard and Carlsberg are among those with pending dues from the Telangana government.

In an email written on November 12, a copy of which CNBCTV18 accessed, the Brewers Association of India (BAI), Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC) and the International Spirits and Wines Association of India (ISWAI), which together represent over 80% of the liquor, wine and beer sold in India and Telangana, said they have been following up with senior officials, including the Excise Minister and Deputy Chief Minister, but the dues remain largely unpaid.

The ₹2985 crore includes ₹2,029 crore in outstanding dues from before August 2024 and ₹956 crore in overdue payments on more recent sales.

The email to the chief minister called for immediate intervention for three things: Release pending payments for May–August 2024, bring current outstanding payments down to 45 days as per tender terms and reduce advance excise duty to 1% to ease working capital pressure.

The letter said the prolonged delay has created a financial strain on companies operating in Telangana and warned that many companies may not be able to continue operations if payments are not released immediately.

“It is simply an unsustainable situation for the industry. Such delays in payments by over a year by a Government are unheard of anywhere in the developed world and are severely eroding the credibility and investor attractiveness of the State,” the letter stated.

The industry bodies said only ₹281 crore of the ₹2,310 crore owed for the period prior to August 2024 has been released, about 10% of the total.

“The Alcoholic Beverages sector generates over ₹2300 crores per month towards the State’s revenues in Telangana and is the largest contributor to the State’s own revenue collections (32%). Despite that, it is being treated extremely unfairly and is being denied its legitimate dues” the letter stated.

They further noted that the government had collected nearly ₹3,000 crore as application fees for the retail liquor licence lottery held in October, and had earlier indicated that these funds could be used to clear old dues.

With new retail licences set to start operations in December 2025 and festive-season demand expected to rise by over 75%, the industry said supply disruptions are likely unless dues are cleared on priority.

The associations have also sought an urgent meeting between the Chief Minister and CEOs of member companies to discuss the issue.

This is another letter in a series of letters and emails sent to the Telangana government in the past year.

News reports have previously estimated that Diageo’s India business is owed around ₹950–1,000 crore, while Pernod Ricard’s pending dues have been pegged at ₹1,400–1,500 crore. UBL even halted beer supplies to the state earlier this year over accumulated unpaid bills before resuming after discussions. Pernod Ricard had also paused supplies in the past citing similar issues.