(1) This Regulation may be called the Lakshadweep Excise Regulation, 2026.
(2) It extends to the whole of the Union territory of Lakshadweep.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Administrator may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.
Short title, extent and commencement.
Nඈ. 7 ඈൿ 2026 सी.जी.-डी.एल.-अ.-05062026-273174 CG-DL-E-05062026-273174 2 THE GAZETTE OF INDIA EXTRAORDINARY [Part II— Definitions. 2. In this Regulation, unless the context otherwise requires,
(1) Administrator means the Administrator of the Union territory of Lakshadweep appointed by the President under article 239 of the Constitution;
(2) alcohol means ethyl alcohol of any strength and purity having the chemical composition C2H5OH;
(3) alcoholic beverage means a beverage or a liquor or a brew containing more than 0.5 per cent. above the ethanol limit used in the production of alcoholic beverage, which shall be of agricultural origin, provided that its limit shall be zero in case of alcohol-free beer;
(4) Appellate Authority means the Appellate Authority referred to in section 84;
(5) authorised officer means an officer authorised by the Administrator to exercise such powers and perform such duties and functions under the provisions of this Regulation and the rules framed thereunder;
(6) beer means an alcoholic beverage prepared from malt or grain with or without addition of sugar and hops and includes black beer, ale, stout, porter and such other substance as may be specified by the Administrator, by notification.
Explanation. For the purposes of this clause, hops mean ripened cones of female hop plant used for giving flavour to malt liquor;
(7) black jaggery means coarse brown sugar made from palm trees or cane juice ordinarily unfit for human consumption, but contains sufficient quantity of fermentable sugar for manufacture of ethyl alcohol;
(8) blending means mixing of two or more spirits of different strengths and different qualities;
(9) description as may be or as may have been permitted by the Excise Commissioner from time to time and includes can and pouch;
(10) brewery means premises where beer is manufactured and includes every place therein where beer is stored or wherefrom it is issued;
(11) compounding means the manufacture of alcoholic beverage by addition to spirit of a flavouring or colouring matter or both;
(12 contagious d spread rapidly from person to person through direct contact (touching a person who has the infection), indirect contact (touching a contaminated object), or droplet contact (inhaling droplets made when a person who has the infection coughs, sneezes, or talks);
(13) country liquor or traditional liquor means plain or spiced spirit which has been manufactured in India from material recognised as base for country or traditional spirit, namely, mahua, rice, gur, molasses or other traditional spirit;
(14) denaturant means any substance completely miscible in spirit and of such a character that its addition renders the material, or any aqueous dilution of it, non-potable;
(15) Deputy Commissioner means the Deputy Commissioner appointed or designated under section 5;
(16) District Excise Officer means the District Excise Officer appointed or designated under section 5;
Sec. 1] THE GAZETTE OF INDIA EXTRAORDINARY 3
(17) Excise Commissioner means the officer appointed or designated as Excise Commissioner by the Administrator under section 3;
(18) Excise Officer means any officer or person appointed or invested with powers under this Regulation;
(19) excise revenue means revenue derived or derivable from any payment, duty, fee, tax, confiscation or fine imposed or ordered under this Regulation, or of any other law for the time being in force relating to liquor, but does not include fine imposed by a Court of law;
(20) export means to take out of the Union territory of Lakshadweep to any other State or Union territory within the country;
(21) foreign liquor means any liquor imported by land, sea or air, into India;
(22) Government means the Union territory Administration of Lakshadweep;
(23) import means to bring into the Union territory of Lakshadweep from any other State or Union territory of the country;
(24) Indian liquor means liquor manufactured in India by process of distillation or using alcohol obtained by distillation, such as, whisky, brandy, rum, gin, vodka, but does not include country liquor or fermented liquor.
Explanation. For the purposes of this clause, fermented liquor means liquor obtained by the process of fermentation and includes beer, ale, stout, porter wine and any other similar liquor;
(25) licence means a licence granted under this Regulation;
(26) liquor means any alcoholic beverage and includes whisky, brandy, beer, wine, toddy, vodka, gin, tequila, country liquor, arrack and intoxicating liquid consisting of or containing alcohol besides any similar substance which the Administrator may, by notification, declare to be liquor for the purposes of this Regulation;
(27) malt means germinated barley;
(28) manufactory means any distillery, brewery, winery or any establishment distilling, brewing, manufacturing, blending or bottling liquor.
Explanation. For the purposes of this clause, (a includes every place therein where it is stored or wherefrom it is issued;
(b) winery means premises where wine is manufactured and includes every place therein where wine is stored or wherefrom it is issued;
(29) manufacture includes any process,
(a) incidental or ancillary to the completion of a manufactured liquor; or
(b) whether natural or artificial, by which any liquor is produced or prepared and also re-distillation and every process for the rectification, reduction, flavouring, blending or colouring of liquor; or 4 THE GAZETTE OF INDIA EXTRAORDINARY [Part II—
(c) which, in relation to liquor, involves packing or repacking in a bottle or unit package, or labelling or re-labelling of bottles or unit package, including the declaration or alteration of maximum retail price on it, or adoption of any other treatment on the liquor for sale to consumers:
Provided that labelling of bottles or unit packages, imported into India or into the Union territory of Lakshadweep, to comply with statutory requirements, shall not be construed as manufacture;
(30) manufacturer means any person who manufactures Indian liquor and includes a manufacturer of alcohol subject to excise duty under the Central Excise Act, 1944;
(31) maximum retail price means the maximum price at which the liquor may be sold to the ultimate consumer and shall include all taxes, freight, transport charges, commission or trade margin payable to dealers, including charges towards marketing, delivery, packing, forwarding and the like, as the case may be;
(32) molasses means heavy dark coloured viscose liquid produced from residual syrup, drained away in the final stage of the manufacture of gur or sugar including khandasari sugar from sugarcane or gur, when liquid as such or in any form or admixture containing sugar which can be fermented;
(33) notification means a notification published in the Official Gazette be construed accordingly;
(34) permit means an authorisation granted under this Regulation and the rules made thereunder;
(35) police station means the police station having jurisdiction over the place or any other place, which the Administrator may, by notification, declare to be a police station for the purposes of this Regulation;
(36) prescribed means prescribed by rules made by the Administrator under this Regulation;
(37) special duty means a tax on the import of any excisable article, being an article on which countervailing duty as is mentioned in entry 51 of List II in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution, is not imposable on the ground merely that such article is not being manufactured or produced in the territory;
(38) spirit means any liquor containing alcohol obtained by distillation, whether denatured or not;
(39) still means an apparatus for distillation or manufacture of spirits and includes any part thereof;
(40) transport means to move from one place to another within the Union territory of Lakshadweep;
(41 territory of Lakshadweep;
(42) warehouse means a place where storage of liquor is permitted and includes a relevant part of manufactory; and
(43) wine shall be the un-distilled alcoholic beverage produced by the partial or complete alcoholic fermentation of the juice of fresh sound ripe grapes, including grape juice concentrate, restored or un-restored pure condensed grape must, and raisins:
1 of 1944.
Sec. 1] THE GAZETTE OF INDIA EXTRAORDINARY 5
Provided that a vintage wine is a wine made from grapes, of which at least 85 per cent. were grown in a particular year and labelled as such and the yield of the season of wine from a vineyard is a vintage wine.
CHAPTER II ESTABLISHMENT AND CONTROL
3. The Administrator may, by notification, appoint or designate an officer as the Excise Commissioner who shall be the chief controlling authority for administration of this Regulation in the Union territory.
4. The Excise Commissioner shall exercise and perform the following powers and functions, namely:
(a) to regulate, control and monitor the manufacture, possession, import, export, transport, sale, purchase and consumption of liquor;
(b) to curb illegal trade in liquor and illicit distillation;
(c) to protect excise revenues of the Union territory and ensure prompt recovery;
(d) to submit returns and information as required by this Regulation or the rules made thereunder, upon all matters concerning excise;
(e) to ensure social well-being through education for responsible drinking;
(f) to take adequate steps for imparting training to the excise staff in preventive and detective work;
(g) to coordinate in matters covered under this Regulation with other authorities;
(h) to introduce e-governance in various aspects of excise administration and to maintain the national network information on manufacture, possession, transport, sale, import or export of liquor.
Explanation. - information and communication technology to promote efficient and cost-effective services to the public;
(i) to submit to the Administrator an annual report on the administration of this Regulation in such form as may be prescribed; and
(j) to perform such other functions and to exercise such other powers as may, from time to time, be entrusted or delegated to him by the Administrator.
5. The Administrator may appoint or designate such number of Deputy Commissioners, District Excise Officers and such other officers and staff as he may deem fit for the purpose of performing the functions under this Regulation.