Uttar Pradesh Unveils New Excise Policy with E-Lottery and Composite Shops

The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet has approved a new Excise Policy for 2025-26, introducing an e-lottery system for liquor shop allocations and merging beer and foreign liquor outlets into 'Composite Shops.' Processing fees have been categorized into five slabs, and changes also include new packaging for country liquor.

The Uttar Pradesh government has announced sweeping changes to its Excise Policy for the fiscal year 2025-26, introducing an e-lottery system to allocate liquor and cannabis shops. For the first time, the Cabinet also approved 'Composite Shops,' merging existing beer and foreign liquor outlets into singular, consumer-friendly units.

Excise Minister Nitin Agarwal detailed that all categories of liquor outlets, including country liquor, model shops, and cannabis shops, will undergo allocation through the e-lottery system. The move is aimed at preventing monopolies, as individuals can hold no more than two shop licenses statewide under the new system.

Significant revisions in processing fees now categorized by location, alongside new packaging mandates for various types of liquor, highlight the government's agenda for modernizing the sector while encouraging local fruit-based liquor production.