Beer industry, which faces a shortage of aluminum cans, seeks relaxation

New Delhi, October 12 (PTI) The domestic beer industry, which has an acute shortage of aluminum cans and fears of an impact on the growth lane, has urged the government for a ‘short-term regulatory recreation’ in quality control norms to ensure uninterrupted offer from overseas. The beer industry has an annual deficit of 12-13 crore units of 500 ml cans, which accounts for nearly 20 percent of total beer sales in the country, and it can also lead to a deficit of about £ 1,300 in the government’s revenue, according to the Brewers Association of India (BAI). Aluminum cans were brought by a Government BIS (QCO) by a quality control order from 1 April 2025 by a quality check (Bureau of Indian Standards) certification by a quality control order (QCO), which led to the short -term offering problems for beer as well as other liquor packaging in the country. Important aluminum can pack suppliers, ball-drink packaging India and India, their domestic capacity already exhausted at their manufacturing units in India and has transferred that they cannot increase the offer for at least 6-12 months until new production lines are added. Due to the QCO, the beer industry is also unable to import cans from foreign sellers, as the BIS certification can take a few months, creating a risk of supply disruption. Bai, representing three leading beer makers – AB InBev, Carlsberg and United Breweries – who are together from 85 percent of the beer sold in India, approached the government to relax in QCO for a year. Recently, United Breweries Ltd (UBL) managing director and CEO also marked this issue in an interview with PTI. For the industry, the challenge of supplies is “more than inflation, especially on the packaging material because we have a shortage in India”. In a letter to the Department for the Promotion of Industrial and Internal Trade, BAI requested that the “implementation of QCO assignments be postponed for imported aluminum cans until 1 April 2026 to provide sufficient time for domestic suppliers to build local manufacturing capacity”. This expansion will provide sufficient time for domestic suppliers to build local manufacturing capacity. The government granted an extension to suppliers until September 30, 2025 for the import of aluminum cans without bis certification, but according to Bai, it is not sufficient to import cans to the country. Bai also requested “to allow the imports of cans without bis certification by international suppliers who have filed their BIS certification application, along with the required documentation until their applications have been processed”. This transitional arrangement will avoid business disruption while maintaining the regulatory oversight, Bai General Vinod Giri said in the letter. According to Bai, the beer industry operates more than 55 breweries, in which it has invested around £ 25,000 crore, employs more than 27,000 people, and creates an economic impact by farmers, additional units and has a short-term offering problems. “However, this expansion is expected to take at least 12 months, and the extension of one month recently granted, although welcome, is not sufficient to build local capacity or feed cans from other countries to reach the deficit.” The ongoing shortage of aluminum cans is not only a challenge for the supply chain for brewers, but also poses a significant threat to the government’s revenue, especially the excise of the state. We estimate that the joint loss of central and state governments can vary between 1,200 – 1,300 crores annually, “it said. This includes the loss of excise and VAT revenue at the state level and GST contributions at the central level.” In addition, this deficit also has a broader economic impact with operational impacts on Allied industries such as agriculture, package, logistics, and retail, “called Bai.