West Bengal craft beer and microbrewery rules, as of October 2026
West Bengal licenses microbreweries and brewpubs, but its wholesale trade is a state monopoly. Beer duty runs on price slabs that were reset in 2020 and raised in 2024. Here is what the sources say and what to confirm.
The licences exist
The Excise Directorate's list of licences it administers includes a Microbrewery licence and a Beer storage licence for microbreweries. It also lists "Microbrewery" and "Brewpub" as add-ons under the restaurant-cum-bar, hotel-cum-bar, graded hotel and club categories. In practice a brewpub is an on-premises bar licence with brewing attached.
The rules behind these date from 2007. As quoted in a 2015 legal summary, rule 80 required an application to the Excise Commissioner with a non-refundable fee of ₹25,000 for a micro-brewery (₹50,000 for a brewery), plus a fee of ₹0.10 per bulk litre subject to a minimum of ₹30,000. Those figures are old. Ask for the current schedule.
What we could not confirm
We found no current published production cap for a West Bengal microbrewery. We also found nothing on growlers or on supplying other bars. The licence list ties microbrewery and brewpub to an on-premises licence, so plan on selling over your own bar until the excise office tells you otherwise in writing. Brewpubs in Kolkata are not new: a travel guide dates the city's first proper craft brewery to 2016. The route is used, even if the paperwork is thin online.
BEVCO sits between every brand and every shop
The West Bengal State Beverages Corporation took over the entire wholesale liquor trade in 2017 and 2018, with the Kolkata depots the last to go live in January 2018. It runs 23 foreign liquor depots, 35 country spirit depots and three beer-only depots. It sells to every liquor retailer in the state.
For a packaged craft brand that means one buyer. BEVCO's notices include an expression of interest for beer supply posted on 26 August 2026 with bids due 15 September 2026, so supply is contracted in rounds. Miss a round and your kegs or cans wait for the next. A brand also has to carry stock in BEVCO's depots. A beer that sits in a warm depot through May is a beer that ships stale. Brew for shelf life as well as flavour.
How beer duty is worked out
West Bengal taxes beer on slabs of declared price, not as a flat rate. In October 2020 the state moved excise duty and additional excise duty from MRP to the ex-distillery price on a bulk litre basis, with 32 slabs across mild and strong beer. A notification of 10 July 2024 left the excise duty and the slabs unchanged but raised additional excise duty by 4 to 40% for both strong and mild beer.
We could not find a later notification that changes beer rates. The Directorate's current notices page lists amendments from October 2025, so check them for beer before you price. Our beer excise duty explainer shows how slab systems change the price of a premium beer.
Pouring craft beer without a brewery
A restaurant, hotel or pizzeria needs an on-premises foreign liquor licence: restaurant-cum-bar, an FL ON licence for a hotel with an attached bar or the equivalent for a club. Its stock, kegs included, comes through BEVCO like every other retailer's. So a craft brand that wants a tap in a Kolkata bar has to be registered and supplied through BEVCO first. The bar cannot simply buy from the brewer.
Compare that with how taps work in Maharashtra, where a microbrewery can sell kegs straight to licensed bars.
Contract brewing
Rule 79 of the 2007 brewery rules allows breweries for wholesale sale within West Bengal, export or supply outside India. We found no published West Bengal provision on brand owners brewing under someone else's licence. Any such beer would still reach the market through BEVCO. Ask the Excise Commissioner's office how labels are registered before you sign a tolling deal. Our contract brewing guide covers the commercial terms.
What to do next
Get the current microbrewery and brewpub conditions, fees and any cap from the Excise Directorate. Read BEVCO's supply terms before you plan packaged volume. Rates and rules change, sometimes mid-year. Before you sign a lease or order kit, get the current position for your licence class in writing from the excise office and work with a licensing adviser. This guide is a working summary, not legal advice.
Common questions
Does West Bengal have a microbrewery licence?
Yes. The Excise Directorate lists a Microbrewery licence, a Beer storage licence for microbreweries and Brewpub as an add-on to restaurant, hotel and club bar licences.
Can a craft brewer sell kegs directly to bars in West Bengal?
Not as far as we could find. The state corporation BEVCO handles the entire wholesale trade and supplies all retailers, so packaged beer and kegs reach bars through BEVCO.
How is beer taxed in West Bengal?
On slabs of declared price per bulk litre, set in 2020. A July 2024 notification kept the excise duty and slabs but raised additional excise duty by 4 to 40%.
