Finance Ministry revises excise fees

The goverment has moved to overhaul excise licensing charges, with the Finance Ministry issuing Excise Notification No. 03/2025 to introduce a revised fee structure.

The updated regulations, issued under Sections 32 and 25 of the Excise Ordinance, were approved by Parliament on December 5, 2025, and will take effect on December 12, 2025.

According to the notification, the new framework revises the Annual Excise License Fee, Security Deposit, and introduces a One-time Industry Entry Fee applicable to various categories of excise licenses. The Industry Entry Fee is non-refundable and is required to be paid only once, at the time a license is issued for the first time under the new rules.

The Ministry further said that any licensee whose previously paid security deposit falls short of the newly stipulated amount must pay the difference to the Commissioner General of Excise within 30 days of the new regulations taking effect.

The notification also annuls several earlier fee regulations, including Gazette Extraordinary Nos. 2049/4 (2017), 2065/57 (2018), 2366/38 (2024), and 2369/32 (2024).