The Government of Karnataka on May 26, 2026, issued the Karnataka Excise (Sale of Indian and Foreign Liquors) (Second Amendment) Rules, 2026, further to amend the Karnataka Excise (Sale of Indian and Foreign Liquors) Rules, 1968.
The following has been amended:
• The amendment revises provisions relating to Occasional Licences (Form CL-5) by categorising events into Commercial Events, Non-Commercial Events, Tatkal Commercial Events, and Tatkal Non-Commercial Events. Commercial events include ticketed programmes, corporate events, exhibitions, music shows, fairs, and revenue-generating functions, while non-commercial events include private family and social functions such as marriages, receptions, birthdays, and gatherings without commercial gain.
• The rules also introduce Tatkal licences for applications made within 24 hours before the event, to be processed through an expedited procedure upon payment of higher prescribed fees. Licence fees have been revised to ₹75,000 per day for Commercial Events, ₹20,000 for Non-Commercial Events, ₹1.5 lakh for Tatkal Commercial Events, and ₹40,000 for Tatkal Non-Commercial Events.
• Further, the amendment enables fully online issuance of CL-5 occasional licences through an auto-generated electronic system upon payment of prescribed fees. It also provides that if a licence obtained for a non-commercial event is found to have been used for a commercial event, the licensee will be liable to pay a penalty equal to three times the commercial event licence fee. Additionally, Condition No. 2 in Form CL-5 has been omitted.
[Notification no. - FD 10 PES 2026]
