Andhra Pradesh Excise Act, 1968

The State of Andhra Pradesh appealed a High Court order that quashed criminal proceedings and ordered the release of a seized tanker carrying molasses, which had been detained under the Andhra Pradesh Excise Act, 1968 and Prohibition Act, 1995 on suspicion of being used for illicit spirit manufacture. The High Court ha…

The petitioners, industrial users of ethyl alcohol, challenged state statutes imposing a vend fee and other levies on industrial alcohol, arguing that such taxes were beyond the legislative competence of the states. The Court examined the constitutional distribution of powers, focusing on Entries 84 of List I, 51 and 8…

The case concerned the auction of 78 arrack‑shops in Hyderabad and Secunderabad under the Andhra Pradesh Excise (Lease of Right to Sell Liquor in Retail) Rules, 1969. The Collector, acting as auctioning authority, first auctioned the shops individually, then in two groups, and finally as a single lot, contrary to the p…

The State of Andhra Pradesh enacted the Prohibition Act, 1995 and later amended it to prohibit the manufacture of intoxicating liquor. Several liquor manufacturers challenged the amendment, arguing that the State lacked competence under Entry 8 of List II because the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951 (I…

The Prohibition and Excise officers filed FIRs alleging that the accused were transporting or storing black jaggery/molasses for the purpose of manufacturing illicit distilled liquor, offences punishable under the Andhra Pradesh Excise Act, 1968 and the Andhra Pradesh Prohibition Act, 1995. The accused moved the High C…

The Andhra Pradesh Prohibition & Excise Superintendent raided toddy shops of the Toddy Tappers Cooperative Society and found adulterated toddy containing alprazolam. Licences were suspended after samples were sent to independent laboratories under an amended Rule 24 of the A.P. Excise (Arrack and Toddy Licenses General…

McDowell & Company Ltd., a licensed liquor manufacturer in Hyderabad, paid sales tax on its turnover excluding the excise duty that buyers paid directly to the excise authorities. The Commercial Tax Officer issued a notice to include that excise duty in the company's turnover for sales tax purposes, relying on amendmen…

The appellants, liquor manufacturers, challenged Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh excise rules that required them to sell liquor only to a state‑owned distributor (MSIL) and imposed a steep increase in label‑approval fees. They argued that the rules violated their fundamental right to carry on trade under Article 19(1)(g),…

The State of Andhra Pradesh appealed against the Andhra Pradesh High Court’s order quashing a criminal proceeding for the alleged transport of 5,040 kg of black jaggery intended for illicit liquor production. The police seized the jaggery, and a chemical examiner reported it was fit for fermentation producing alcohol u…

M/S K.C.P. Ltd., a producer of industrial (rectified) spirit, challenged the Andhra Pradesh Rectified Spirits Rules, 1971 which required licences, excise duty and various fees for export. The appellants argued that the State could not tax industrial alcohol, that the fees were not a quid pro quo, and that the export fe…

Kalyan Chemicals, a manufacturer of ethyl acetate, challenged the Andhra Pradesh Government's amendment of Rule 3 of the 1971 Denatured Spirit Rules, which introduced an administrative fee of 50 paise per bulk litre and was given retrospective effect from 25‑10‑1989. The appellant argued that the amendment could not be…

The respondent owned a jeep that was taken by a friend and used to transport contraband liquor, leading to its seizure under the Andhra Pradesh Excise Act, 1968. The respondent filed a writ petition claiming he had no knowledge of the offence and that mens rea was required for confiscation. The High Court accepted this…

The State of Andhra Pradesh sought recovery of the excise‑duty component of the issue price for arrack that excise contractors failed to lift against their minimum guaranteed quantity. The contractors argued that excise duty, being a component of the issue price, could be severed and should not be payable on unlifted l…