Uttar Pradesh is about to roll a new excise policy that will allow restaurants to serve wine and beer without needing a full bar license. Yes, you heard it right! The state’s new excise policy for the year 2025-2026 is about to introduce a provision for bars serving only beer and wine in Noida, Ghaziabad, Lucknow, and Agra.
New Uttar Pradesh Policy: All That You Must Know
The new policy has retained the operational hours for liquor shops – from 10 AM to 10 PM. The 12-hour limit has been effective for many years and the new policy will retain this limit. The policy will also ease the financial burden on the restaurants that earlier required costly full bar licenses to serve even wine and beer.
The costs for obtaining a liquor license in these four cities started from 10 lakhs up to 15 lakhs. However, now they could obtain the same license at just 4 lakhs, making it comparatively affordable for restaurant owners to get a license. The policy will come into effect on April 1, and licenses will be valid for a year.
A great aspect of the policy is that it is applicable to restaurants, cafes, and fine dining places. The main goal of the new excise policy is to enable restaurants to serve limited kinds of alcohol like beer and wine without actually having to spend an arm and a leg on obtaining a full bar license. The beer-and-wine license will allow restaurants to serve beer and wine in an efficient and affordable manner.
It is also beneficial to customers who wish to have a light sip of alcohol when they visit a cafe, often as an accompaniment to pastas, pizzas, and other foods. Now, they won’t have to specifically look for a bar to have some booze – they can simply walk into a cafe or a restaurant and grab a glass of wine or beer with their comfort food!
Also Read: Uttar Pradesh’s New Excise Policy for 2025-26: Key Changes and Implications
Summing Up
The new excise policy will surely change the way many restaurants and cafes function in these four cities in Uttar Pradesh. They won’t have to pay exorbitant licensing fees and go through tedious administrative work just to serve soft liquor. It will be interesting to see how the policy shapes up and proves beneficial for both the customers and the restaurant owners.
