New Delhi | October 12, 2025 — India’s beer industry is struggling with a major shortage of aluminium cans and has requested the government to relax import rules temporarily to avoid disruptions in production and sales.
According to the Brewers Association of India (BAI), the industry is facing an annual shortfall of 12–13 crore 500 ml cans, which make up nearly 20% of total beer sales in the country. This shortage could also lead to an estimated ₹1,300 crore loss in government revenue.
The problem began after the government made Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification mandatory for aluminium cans from April 1, 2025, under a Quality Control Order (QCO). While intended to improve quality, the sudden change has caused short-term supply issues for the beer and beverage packaging sectors.
India’s two major aluminium can manufacturers — BALL Beverage Packaging India and Can-Pack India — have already reached full production capacity. They’ve informed industry stakeholders that they won’t be able to increase supply for another 6 to 12 months, until new production lines are operational.
Due to the BIS requirement, importing cans from foreign suppliers has also become difficult, as the certification process for overseas vendors can take several months.
To address the crisis, BAI, which represents leading beer makers AB InBev, Carlsberg, and United Breweries (together responsible for 85% of India’s beer sales), has urged the government to defer the BIS implementation for imported cans until April 1, 2026.
In a letter to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), BAI requested that companies who have already applied for BIS certification be allowed to import cans while their applications are being processed.
“The extension will give domestic suppliers enough time to expand capacity and help the industry avoid disruption,” said Vinod Giri, Director General of BAI.
The government has already extended the import exemption for non-BIS-certified cans until September 30, 2025, but BAI says this period is too short to bridge the supply gap.
The association highlighted that India’s beer sector operates over 55 breweries, with investments exceeding ₹25,000 crore and employment for over 27,000 people. The ongoing can shortage, it warned, threatens not only business continuity but also government revenues from excise, VAT, and GST, as well as the livelihoods tied to agriculture, packaging, logistics, and retail.
“The shortage of aluminium cans is not just a supply issue—it could impact the entire beer value chain and cause annual revenue losses of up to ₹1,300 crore for both central and state governments,” BAI added.
