The Cookware, Cutlery and Cans for Food and Beverages (Quality Control) Order 2026 will be implemented from October 2026 for large arms, from January next year for small units and from April 2027 for micro-enterprises. | Photo credit: REUTERS/MIKE BLAKE
The move has been welcomed by alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverage manufacturers, who have stated that the extension order will help bridge the gap between supply and demand before the arrival of the peak summer season.
The 2026 Order on Cookware, Cutlery and Cans for Food and Beverages (Quality Control) will be implemented from October 2026 for big guns, from January next year for small units and from April 2027 for micro-enterprises.
As per the order, these goods will have to conform to respective Indian standards and will bear the standard mark under a license from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). It was issued on January 15 by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). DPIIT is a department of the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
This expansion will also likely benefit food companies that use similar canned packaging for premium foods.
The drinks industry, which typically starts stockpiling from mid-January in anticipation of rising demand during the summer, feared a drop in sales due to aluminum can supply bottlenecks.
The postponement comes at a time when consumption of drinks in metal cans is surging, driven by millennials preferring them to traditional glass bottles and aseptic carton packaging.
The expansion is seen as a crucial step to bridge the gap between supply and demand and ensure uninterrupted growth for beverage companies during their busiest season.
Aluminum cans, which are widely used by brewers and soft drink companies, came under mandatory certification from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) from August 2025, through a quality control order (QCO). This move, aimed at ensuring compliance with quality standards, has led to supply disruptions in the short term as India continues to rely on imports to meet rising demand.
Key suppliers BALL Beverage Packaging India and Can-Pack India have already exhausted their domestic capacity and have indicated that they will not be able to ramp up production for the next six to 12 months until new production lines come on line.
In addition, due to the QCO, the beer industry cannot import cans from foreign suppliers as BIS certification can take several months, creating the risk of supply disruption.
Commenting on the development, the Brewers Association of India (BAI) said the extension of timeline for BIS certification for imported cans is a very timely decision by the DPIIT to avert a major potential crisis for the beer and other beverage industry.
“It will help Alcobev companies better prepare for the upcoming summer season when demand for beer and even soft drinks will skyrocket,” said BAI DG Vinod Giri.
Beer makers prefer locally made empty cans because they cost significantly less than imported cans. However, domestic capacity is currently more than 20 percent short.
“Manufacturers can invest in increasing capacity in the country, but that will take time. This extension of timeline will give them enough time to expand production capacity in the country while filling gaps through imports, thereby avoiding business disruption,” he said.
BAI, which represents three leading beer makers – AB InBev, Carlsberg and United Breweries – which together account for 85 percent of beer sold in India, has been in ongoing discussions with the DPIIT on the issue since last August.
“We are pleased that the government is taking timely action to resolve the issue. It is very reassuring and we appreciate that,” Giri said.
Last year, the Managing Director and CEO of United Breweries Ltd (UBL) also flagged this issue in an interview with PTI.
Anticipating the situation, he told the industry at the time, the challenge is supply “more than inflation, especially in terms of packaging material, because we have a shortage of cans in India.” The “Cookware, Utensils and Cans for Foods and Beverages (Quality Control) Extension Order, 2025” requires manufacturers and importers to obtain a license from the BIS and ensure that their products comply with specific Indian standards in the areas of material composition, lids, shapes, dimensions, seam integrity, pressure resistance, leakage prevention, chemical stability and adhesion of internal and external coatings.
Published on January 25, 2026
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