Meghalaya trims bonded warehouse categories, expands homemade wine policy

Meghalaya’s cabinet has approved a major overhaul in bonded warehouse regulations, cutting the number of turnover-based categories from three to two.

Under the revised structure, warehouses with an annual turnover exceeding Rs 20 crore will now fall under Category A, while those below that threshold will be classified as Category B. The earlier system had three slabs — over Rs 20 crore, Rs 10–20 crore, and up to Rs 10 crore.

The cabinet also cleared an update to the state’s Homemade Wine Policy, allowing more variety in production. Previously limited to fruit-based wines, the policy will now permit the use of rhizomes such as ginger and bulb rootstock, floral sources, and honey.

Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma announced the changes on social media, noting, “New ingredients will be introduced like Rhizome (Ginger, Bulb rootstock), Floral source, Honey… under the updated wine policy.”

The move is aimed at simplifying business compliance and boosting local wine production by diversifying permissible raw materials.