Govt. revises annual liquor licence, one-time entry fees up to Rs. 25 m

Saturday, 13 December 2025 00:42 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Government has moved to restructure excise licensing charges, with the Finance Ministry issuing Excise Notification No. 03/2025 setting out a revised fee regime.

The Government has imposed sharply higher upfront costs on the liquor industry under Excise Notification No. 03/2025, effective from yesterday (12), introducing a new one-time, non-refundable Industry Entry Fee alongside revised annual licence fees and security deposits.

Standard distillery licences, manufacturers of country-made foreign liquor and malt liquor will now be subject to a Rs. 25 million Industry Entry Fee per licence. Palmrah arrack distilleries face a lower entry fee of Rs. 5 million.

Liquor bottling licences have been made significantly more capital-intensive, with a Rs. 5 million Industry Entry Fee, an annual licence fee of Rs. 5 million, and a security deposit of Rs. 10 million.

Retail licences to sell liquor outside premises now attract entry fees ranging from Rs. 10 million to Rs. 15 million, with the highest charge applying to supermarkets and large grocery chains regardless of location. Wholesale liquor licences carry entry fees of up to Rs. 2.5 million.

Existing licensees must top up security deposits to the new thresholds within 30 days, while earlier fee regulations issued in 2017, 2018 and 2024 have been repealed.

The new regulations, made under Sections 32 and 25 of the Excise Ordinance, received Parliamentary approval on 5 December 2025 and scheduled to come into force yesterday (12).