BAI urges government to ease import norms as BIS certification bottlenecks threaten beer supply and revenue
India’s beer makers, grappling with a severe shortage of aluminium cans, have sought temporary regulatory relief from the government to maintain supply continuity and avoid disruption to growth, as per PTI reports.
According to the Brewers Association of India (BAI), the industry faces an annual shortfall of 12–13 crore 500 ml cans, a size that makes up nearly one-fifth of all beer sold in the country. The supply crunch, BAI warned, could also translate into a potential loss of about Rs 1,300 crore in government revenue.
The shortage stems from a Quality Control Order (QCO) that made Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification mandatory for all aluminium cans starting April 1, 2025. While the regulation aims to ensure product quality, it has inadvertently created short-term supply bottlenecks for both the beer and beverage packaging sectors.
Major suppliers such as BALL Beverage Packaging India and Can-Pack India have already reached full production capacity and indicated that they will be unable to scale up supply for at least six to twelve months, until additional manufacturing lines become operational.
Representing leading brewers including AB InBev, Carlsberg, and United Breweries, the BAI has formally approached the government seeking a short-term regulatory relaxation in import norms to tide over the crisis. The industry has proposed a one-year extension of QCO compliance, allowing imports of cans from overseas suppliers who have already applied for BIS certification, until April 1, 2026. This transitional measure, the association argued, would maintain supply continuity without compromising quality standards.
While the government has already granted a limited extension, allowing import of non-BIS-certified cans until 30 September 2025, the industry maintains that the period is too short to address the widening deficit.
The aluminium can shortage is also having a cascading impact on allied sectors such as agriculture, packaging, logistics, and retail, given the beer industry’s interconnected supply chain. The crisis threatens to affect the India Beer Industry that operates 55 breweries with cumulative investments of around Rs 25,000 crore, while putting at risk nearly 27,000 direct jobs in breweries across the country, as per BAI.
Aluminium cans have become increasingly popular in recent years, particularly in markets such as Uttar Pradesh, where they dominate beer packaging. The problem is compounded by rising demand from both beer and soft drink makers, and India’s reliance on imported aluminium sheet stock used to manufacture beverage cans, even though the country is among the world’s largest producers of primary aluminium.
