Notification/Circular No.: No. 01/2026-Narcotics Control-I; G.S.R. 912(E) dated October 23, 2026
Applicable Act/Rule: Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985; Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Rules, 1985
Applicable Section/Rule: Rule 8 and Rule 7 (Form No. 1) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Rules, 1985
Effective Period: October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027
The Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) has issued G.S.R. 912(E) under rule 8 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Rules, 1985, notifying general conditions for grant of licenses to cultivate opium poppy for obtaining opium gum through lancing on account of the Central Government during the opium crop year from October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027.
Licensing may be granted for any tract notified by the Central Government. Subject to clauses 3 and 7, eligibility includes cultivators who grew opium poppy in 2025-26 and tendered an average Morphine Minimum Qualifying Yield (MQY-M) of not less than 4.4 kg per hectare. It also includes cultivators who, in accordance with relevant provisions under the supervision of the Central Bureau of Narcotics, uprooted their entire poppy crop in 2023-24, 2024-25 and 2025-26 but did not do so in 2022-23; those whose appeals against non-sanction of license were allowed after the last date in 2025-26; nominees named in Column 11 of Form No. 1 (see rule 7) by an eligible deceased farmer for 2025-26; and, following due process by the District Opium Officer, one legal heir of deceased eligible cultivators where no nomination was made in Form No. 1 or where the nominee does not fall within the defined family/blood relations in that form.
No license shall be issued unless the cultivator meets the prescribed conditions: in actual cultivation during 2025-26 the cultivated area must not have exceeded the licensed area by more than the permissible 5% condonable margin; the cultivator must never have engaged in illegal opium poppy cultivation and must not have been charged by a competent court for any offence under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 or the rules made thereunder; and must not have violated departmental instructions issued by the Central Bureau of Narcotics/Commissioner of Narcotics during 2025-26. Each eligible cultivator will be licensed for 0.10 hectare in a single plot (which may span multiple survey/khasra numbers), and may lease land to meet the licensed area. Excess cultivated area up to 5% over the licensed area may be condoned.
The notification issues advance warnings for future eligibility. To qualify for a license in 2027-28, a cultivator must tender an MQY-M of 5.9 kg morphine per hectare in 2026-27. The morphine content in opium tendered during 2026-27 may be adopted as the basis of payment, if the Government so decides. Cultivators who uprooted their entire crops in 2024-25 and 2025-26 will be ineligible for a 2027-28 license if they again fully uproot their crops in 2026-27. Cultivators who in 2026-27 fully harvest for poppy straw without extracting latex through lancing will be eligible in 2027-28 for a license to cultivate for the production of poppy straw (no lancing). Further, cultivators who were eligible for a 2026-27 license for opium gum through lancing but did not obtain a license, or after obtaining a license did not actually cultivate, will be eligible in 2027-28 for a license to cultivate for the production of poppy straw (no lancing).
Applications must be submitted in Form No. 1 with details of land ownership, survey numbers and other information as required by the Narcotics Commissioner. These general conditions do not prejudice the powers of the Narcotics Commissioner/Deputy Commissioner to issue or withhold licenses under the NDPS Act and Rules. Any field may be acquired by the Government or a Government-designated institution/agency for research; the selected area will be excluded from yield calculations, and the farmer will be considered for a license in the next year if the minimum qualifying yield is presented and other eligibility conditions are met. For payment of opium tendered, based on analysis by the Government Opium and Alkaloid Factory, Neemuch or Ghazipur, payment may be based either on the quantity at 70-degree concentration or on morphine content, if the Government so decides. Cultivators licensed in one village but residing in a nearby village may be permitted to store opium at their residence, provided there are continuous human settlements between the villages.
Names of eligible cultivators will be uploaded on the CBN website (cbn.gov.in) and/or the CBN online portal (cbnonline.gov.in), and they may also be informed via SMS, email and other means. Cultivators listed in the eligibility list must apply within the prescribed timelines via the CBN online portal in online mode. Existing licensees need not resubmit documents already available with CBN; only changes from the previous year must be provided. In case of any divergence in the Hindi and English versions of the Opium Policy 2026-27, the English version shall prevail.
Link: https://egazette.gov.in/WriteReadData/2026/277398.pdf
Disclaimer: The information contained in this Article is intended solely for personal non-commercial use of the user who accepts full responsibility of its use. The information in the article is general in nature and should not be considered to be legal, tax, accounting, consulting or any other professional advice. We make no representation or warranty of any kind, express or implied regarding the accuracy, adequacy, reliability or completeness of any information on our page/article.
To stay updated Subscribe to our newsletter today
Explore other Legal updates on the Corplico and follow us on LinkedIn to stay updated
