Delhi amends excise rules, raises sacramental wine limit ahead of Christmas

Earlier, bishops were permitted to purchase and possess up to 91 litres of sacramental wine annually, which has now been increased to 4,000 litres

The Delhi government has amended provisions of its Excise Policy by notifying changes to the Delhi Excise Rules, 2010, a statement issued by the Department of Finance said on Monday.

 

The amendments significantly increase storage and possession limits for special denatured spirit and expand the permissible quantity of sacramental wine that churches may purchase and possess. Notably, the changes come days ahead of Christmas.

 

Sacramental wine limit raised sharply

 

The amendment revised Rule 20 of the Delhi Excise Rules, 2010, expanding the scope for sacramental wine used by churches.

 

Earlier, bishops were permitted to purchase and possess up to 91 litres of sacramental wine annually.

 

Under the revised rule, the notification said: “Provided further that the Bishop of Delhi may, for bona fide church use for sacramental purpose, purchase/import, transport and possess duty free sacramental wine annually up to 4,000 litres in one or multiple permits from an authorised distillery anywhere in India with the approval of the Excise Commissioner.”

 

Sacramental wine is grape-based wine used exclusively in Christian religious ceremonies.

 

Higher storage limits for denatured spirit

 

As part of the amendment, the government revised conditions under Form P-6 relating to special denatured spirit.

 

“In the special condition no. 1 of the Form P-6, the words ‘The total quantity of special denatured spirit stored in the said premises shall not exceed 6,744 kilo litres at one time’ shall be substituted with the words ‘The total quantity of special denatured spirit stored in the said premises shall not exceed 15,000 kilo litres at one time,’” the notification said.

 

It further said, “In the special condition no. 2 of Form P-6, the words ‘The annual authorised possession limit of the permit holder has been fixed at 64,000 kilo litres’ shall be substituted with the words ‘The annual authorised possession limit of the permit holder has been fixed at 120,000 kilo litres.’”

 

When the changes take effect

 

The notification clarified that, “These rules may be called the Delhi Excise (Amendment) Rules, 2025. These amendments shall come into force on the date of publication in the official gazette.”

 

Delhi’s excise framework has remained under scrutiny since the withdrawal of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s 2021–22 liquor policy following investigations by the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into alleged irregularities.

 

After the rollback of that policy, the capital reverted to a government-controlled retail model. Since then, changes to the excise regime have largely been carried out through rule amendments and administrative notifications, with the Lieutenant Governor playing a central role in approvals under the Delhi Excise Act.