Here's a fact that ruins a dinner party: almost everyone who's ever had a drink in Mumbai was, on paper, breaking the law.
Under the Maharashtra Prohibition Act, you need a permit to buy, keep or drink alcohol in the state. Not the bar. You. A one-day permit costs ₹5. Most people have never seen one.
Is a liquor permit really required in Maharashtra?
Yes. The law that governs drinking in Maharashtra is the Bombay Prohibition Act of 1949, now called the Maharashtra Prohibition Act. It says you need a permit to buy, possess or consume liquor. That's still the law in 2026.
There are three kinds: a one-day permit, a yearly one and a lifetime one. All three can be applied for online.
How much does a liquor permit cost?
The one-day permit is ₹5, and ₹2 if it's for country liquor. That figure has been reported for years and hasn't moved much.
The yearly and lifetime ones are less settled. A 2021 guide put them at ₹100 and ₹1,000. A December 2025 report put them at ₹200 and ₹2,000. So: somewhere around there. Check the excise department's site before you plan your finances around it.
Why does Mumbai have this rule at all?
Because in 1949, Bombay went dry.
The Bombay Prohibition Act banned alcohol across the province, and from April 1950 it was enforced hard, under Morarji Desai, the future prime minister. It wasn't an outlier. By December 1954, a third of India's land and a quarter of its people lived under prohibition, and the Planning Commission wanted the whole country dry by 1958.
That didn't happen. The Supreme Court upheld the Act in 1951 but struck down parts of it. The Act was amended in 1952 to allow liquor for medicinal use. And in September 1972, Bombay changed its rules so permits could be issued for plain old drinking.
Which is where the permit comes from. Bombay never repealed prohibition. It just started issuing paperwork.
Does anyone actually check?
Mostly, no. Mostly.
A Mumbai excise inspector, Vinay Shirke, put it plainly to Curly Tales in 2020: the department "takes action only when people complain", and doesn't go after people drinking quietly at home.
But the rule is still there when someone decides to use it. A few times it has been:
- In 2015, Thane's deputy excise commissioner, Arjun Ohol, told DNA that "the consumer should possess a license even if the person is drinking inside his apartment."
- In 2013, filmmaker Priti Chandriani was reportedly arrested over liquor at her home. She said it was for making liqueur chocolates.
- In May 2020, during lockdown, Maharashtra allowed home delivery of alcohol, but only to people holding a permit. Suddenly a lot of people found out what a permit was.
So should you get one?
We're not your lawyer. But the law says you need one, a day's permit costs less than a cutting chai, and the lifetime one is a one-time thing. Make of that what you will.
And since someone always asks: the permit's for alcohol. Nothing in a Differ* can needs one. 0% is 0%.
What else does the 1949 law decide?
More than you'd think. It's the reason you can drink beer at 21 in Maharashtra but whisky only at 25. It's the reason a house party can technically need a licence. And it's why a bottle carried in from Goa can get a truck driver arrested.
Next in Rules Nobody Chose: why you can drink at 21 in Goa and not until 25 in Delhi.
We're making drinks for the nights that don't need paperwork. Get your founder code and you'll hear first when Batch 001 is ready.
Sources
- The Maharashtra Prohibition Act, 1949, India Code.
- USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, "State of Maharashtra Allows Home Delivery of Liquor During Lockdown" (May 2020).
- Scroll, "A history lesson for Nitish Kumar: prohibition does not work".
- Homegrown, "Alcohol laws in Maharashtra" (2021).
- Pune Pulse, on permit types and fees (December 2025).
- DNA, "Hosting a house party on New Year's Eve? You can land in jail" (December 2015).
- Curly Tales, on serving liquor at home without a permit (2020).
- The Tribune, on lockdown home delivery (May 2020).
General information, checked in September 2026. Not legal advice. Excise rules change; check the Maharashtra State Excise department for the current position.
