Smoother Seasons Ahead: 83,000+ Tobacco Farmers Toast to Triple-Year License Relief

In a welcome development for the tobacco-growing sector, the Indian government has decided to increase the validity of Virginia tobacco growers' registration certificates and barn operation licenses from one year to three years. This new policy, which goes into effect for the 2025-26 crop cycle, will benefit over 83,500 farmers and almost 91,000 barns in India's main tobacco-growing states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana and Odisha. 

 

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry mentioned that, this initiative seeks to minimize the regulatory burden on farmers by removing the requirement for annual renewals, as well as streamlining processes and ease of doing business for farmers. The amendment to the Tobacco Board Rules, 1976, was signed by the President of India and has now been gazetted, allowing farmers to sidestep extensive paperwork and focus rather on farming and production.

 

Virginia tobacco farming in India is regulated by the Tobacco Board Act of 1975 that apllies to farmers with the  ? registration certificate and a barn license. The certificates, previously annually issued, will now be issued for a three year period. This eliminates the need for the annual certificate and barn license process, enhancing farmer's ability to plan logistics and financies, and adding greater stability and continuity. 

 

India continues to be the world's second-largest producer and the fourth largest exporter of unmanufactured tobacco. In the financial year 2024-2025, exports of unmanufactured tobacco accounted for nearly $2 billion (₹16,728 crores) to the exchequer.

 

Source: Ommcom News