Lucknow, 9 July

Six states, including Punjab and Karnataka, sent teams to study the Uttar Pradesh's excise policy, which helped the state increase revenue every year, a state minister said on Wednesday.

Speaking with PTI, Uttar Pradesh Excise and Prohibition Minister Nitin Agrawal said that teams from six states of Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Punjab visited the state to study the excise policy.

Asked about the policy features that were liked by the states, the minister said that the states came to study the UP's revenue model which increased the state’s coffers. “Secondly, the lottery system, which we had implemented, was also seen by them."

The Track and Trace System, which was implemented by the department to track liquor bottles from distilleries to retailers, was also studied by the officials of the visiting states.

The minister said that the department's revenue was Rs 17,320.10 crore in 2017-18, which zoomed to Rs 52,573.07 crore in 2024-25.

The year 2023-24 saw the department earning a revenue of Rs 45,570.47 crore (an increase of 10.47 per cent).

Agrawal also informed that in the first quarter of 2025-26, the department's performance has been phenomenal, as it has achieved 98.81 per cent of the revenue target of Rs 14,400 crore.

The minister was speaking on the sidelines of 'Excise Investors Summit' held in Lucknow on Wednesday.

When asked about aspects of UP's Excise Policy which other states wanted to emulate, UP's Excise Commissioner Adarsh Singh said, "The fact that we have been able to increase our revenue year on year, that we have been able to do complete lottery of the retail sector in a transparent and fair manner .. were some of the aspects of the Excise policy."

He added that the teams from other states have been visiting UP for the past year.

The Uttar Pradesh Excise Policy 2025-26 came into effect on 1 April under which separate foreign liquor and beer shops are being replaced by composite shops, increasing the retail density without increasing the number of shops.

In February, the UP cabinet approved the Excise Policy for the financial year 2025-26, with several key changes including the introduction of an e-lottery system for the allocation of liquor and 'bhang' (cannabis) shops.

The government has also for the first time introduced the concept of composite shops, merging separate beer and foreign liquor outlets into a single unit. In the Uttar Pradesh Excise Policy 2025-26, the department has also fixed an excise target of Rs 63,000 crore.

Low-alcoholic bars (serving beer and wine only) have been introduced in Noida, Ghaziabad, Agra and Lucknow. Bars and premium retail vends can be opened in Information and Technology (IT) and Information Technology Enabled Services (ITeS) establishments above 20,000 square metres in development authorities and industrial areas.

Liquor tasting has been allowed for visitors in wineries, breweries and distilleries, the UP Excise Policy statement said, adding that retail shops can be opened in breweries and wineries.

It said the 90ml category has been introduced in the regular category of Indian-Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL). Event bar licences have been classified into distinct categories to prevent misuse, the statement said.

Several steps have been taken to promote responsible tourism in distilleries, wineries and breweries, the Excise Policy statement said.