You’re standing in Gujarat,a state where alcohol has been banned since 1960. You can’t buy a beer at a regular bar, can’t grab a bottle of wine from a shop to take home, and can’t even order a cocktail at most restaurants. It’s the law. It’s been the law for over 60 years.
And then you walk into GIFT City, and suddenly, there’s a wine bar.
This isn’t some loophole or an oversight. This is very much intentional,a carefully calculated exception to one of India’s strictest prohibition laws. Welcome to what might be the most unique liquor policy in the country: a “liquor island” floating in the middle of a dry state.
The story of how GIFT City got here, and what it actually means for you as a visitor, business owner, or curious Ahmedabad resident, is worth understanding because the rules have changed significantly, especially in the last few months.
The Context: Why GIFT City Exists in a Dry State
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To understand the liquor policy, you need to understand what GIFT City actually is and why the government made an exception for it.
GIFT City (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City) is Gandhinagar’s bid to compete with global financial hubs like Singapore and Dubai. It’s supposed to be a world-class financial centre that attracts international businesses, investors, and talent. When you’re competing globally for financial services companies, having a strict alcohol ban becomes a competitive disadvantage. International professionals expect to be able to have a drink at a restaurant or hotel. It’s normal. It’s part of business culture.
So in December 2023, the Gujarat government did something it had never done before: it created a controlled liquor policy specifically for GIFT City. They didn’t abolish prohibition across the state (that remains firmly in place everywhere else). Instead, they carved out a small, heavily regulated exception.
This wasn’t about permitting a free-for-all. It was about strategic economic policy,attracting the kind of businesses and talent that can compete on the world stage.
December 2025: Everything Changed
For the first year-plus of GIFT City’s liquor policy, the system was restrictive. To drink alcohol legally in GIFT City, you needed to jump through hoops: apply for a permit, get recommendations, and show documentation. It worked, but it was cumbersome.
Then, on December 20, 2025, the Gujarat Home Department issued a major update. The rules got significantly easier,especially for visitors and international professionals.
Here’s what changed:
The permit requirement for external persons was scrapped. If you’re not a Gujarat resident,whether you’re from India or abroad,you no longer need to apply for a liquor permit. You just need a photo ID. Any ID. Walk into a designated hotel or restaurant, order a drink, and you’re legal. That’s it.
Consumption areas expanded dramatically. Previously, you could only drink alcohol in enclosed wine and dine areas. Now? You can drink on lawns, poolside areas, and terraces. You can sit outside with a cocktail. The alcohol-friendly zones got wider.
For Gujarat residents, the system still requires obtaining a liquor permit (the existing state permit system applies), but for everyone else,tourists, visiting professionals, international businesspeople,the barrier to entry basically vanished.
Who Can Actually Drink in GIFT City?
Let’s break this down clearly because the December 2025 changes created different categories.
If you’re from outside Gujarat (Indian nationals or foreign nationals): You can consume alcohol at designated hotels, restaurants, and bars in GIFT City simply by showing a photo ID. No permit. No paperwork. No waiting. The change was specifically designed to make it frictionless for international professionals and tourists.
If you’re a Gujarat resident, you still need to follow the state’s liquor permit system. You’ll need to apply for and obtain a permit before consuming alcohol, even in GIFT City. The process involves submitting Form A-1 to an Authorised Officer in GIFT City and getting approval from your employer’s HR department if you’re working there.
If you’re working in GIFT City, Employees get to use the streamlined process. Instead of going through a “Recommending Officer,” you can now directly submit your application to the Authorised Officer in GIFT City. This change, made in April 2025, simplified things for the thousands of financial professionals working there.
Where You Can Actually Drink
This is important: you can’t just drink anywhere in GIFT City. Alcohol consumption is restricted to designated establishments with proper licensing.
Bars, restaurants, hotels, and clubs in GIFT City can serve alcohol only if they have a special FL-3 license issued by the state. These establishments have to meet specific requirements,they’re registered, regulated, and monitored. Your friend can’t start selling beer out of their GIFT City apartment. The government is carefully controlling where alcohol is consumed.
Also, thanks to the December 2025 changes, you’re not limited to windowless back rooms anymore. You can drink on the lawn of a hotel, at a poolside bar, or on a terrace overlooking the city. But it has to be in an area that’s explicitly authorised under an FL-3 license.
You can’t buy a bottle and take it home. You can’t grab alcohol at a shop (there are no liquor shops in GIFT City). This is consumption-only in authorised venues. That’s the trade-off for having an exception in a prohibition state.
The Business Side: FL-3 Licenses and What They Cost
If you’re thinking about opening a restaurant, bar, or hotel in GIFT City and want to serve alcohol, the government wants you to pay for that privilege.
An FL-3 license costs ₹1,00,000 per year plus a ₹2,00,000 security deposit for a 5-year term. That’s ₹5,00,000 annually when you factor in the security component. For many hospitality businesses, that’s a legitimate cost consideration, but it’s also a barrier to entry. This ensures that only serious, established venues are serving alcohol.
Licensees have to maintain detailed records of all alcohol purchased and sold, keep the entire licensed area under CCTV surveillance, and follow specific operational guidelines. The state isn’t being casual about this exception.
If you’re already operating a restaurant in GIFT City, getting this license means entering a heavily monitored ecosystem. But for upscale hotels and established restaurants, the license fee is probably worth the competitive advantage of being able to offer alcohol, a major draw for international clientele.
What This Means for Ahmedabad’s Nightlife Scene
Here’s where it gets interesting for Ahmedabad as a whole.
GIFT City is only about 12-13 kilometres from central Ahmedabad. It’s not far at all, and with the Ahmedabad Metro Violet Line now operational (since January 2026), you can get there without even driving. And now, with the permit requirement scrapped for non-Gujarati visitors, you’ve essentially created a legitimate day-trip destination for drinking in a way that’s impossible elsewhere in the state.
Someone visiting Ahmedabad from Delhi? They can take a drive to GIFT City and have dinner with wine or a cocktail. An international business delegation? Instead of the awkwardness of the state’s prohibition culture, GIFT City offers a world-class alternative.
For Ahmedabad itself, this is a bit of a double-edged sword. GIFT City’s permissiveness might pull some nightlife revenue away from the city. But it also legitimises and normalises the conversation around alcohol in Gujarat,something that’s been taboo for decades. It’s a pressure release valve. As more international businesses set up in GIFT City, more people will experience what “normal” hospitality looks like globally.
Ashaval has a popular guide to liquor shops in Ahmedabad (where Gujarat residents with proper permits can legally purchase alcohol), and GIFT City represents an entirely different conversation: not about shopping, but about dining and social experiences with alcohol as a regulated exception rather than a prohibited product.
For Context: How This Compares to the Rest of Gujarat
To put this in perspective: the rest of Gujarat remains bone-dry. Prohibition is absolute elsewhere. There’s no alcohol service in any other city,not Ahmedabad, not Surat, not Vadodara, not anywhere except GIFT City.
In the rest of the state, even obtaining a personal liquor permit (which some Gujarati residents can do) requires going through a formal, stigmatized process. The state has no bars. No nightlife scene. No restaurant wine lists. Nothing.
GIFT City breaks that completely,but only within its boundaries. This isn’t a state-wide liberalisation. This is a surgical exception to attract global business.
Can I walk into GIFT City and order a drink?
If you’re from outside Gujarat, yes,just show a photo ID at a designated bar or restaurant with an FL-3 license. If you’re a Gujarat resident, you still need a liquor permit.
Do I need any documents besides my ID?
For non-Gujarati visitors: just a photo ID. That’s it as of December 2025.
What if I want to buy a bottle of alcohol to take home from GIFT City?
You can’t. There are no retail liquor shops in GIFT City. Consumption is only at authorized venues (hotels, restaurants, bars, clubs). This isn’t about home drinking,it’s about hospitality.
Are there restaurants outside GIFT City in Gandhinagar where I can drink alcohol?
No. GIFT City is the only exception in the entire state. Outside its boundaries, prohibition applies again.
For a practical guide to where you can actually drink in GIFT City, including the three verified FL-3 licensed venues and the nearest permit wine shops near Gandhinagar, see our GIFT City and Gandhinagar alcohol guide.
What about private clubs in GIFT City? Can they serve alcohol?
If they have an FL-3 license, yes. But the license requirements are the same as for hotels and restaurants.
The Bigger Picture
GIFT City’s liquor policy is fascinating because it reveals something about modern economic strategy. A strict ban on alcohol is part of Gujarat’s political and cultural identity,it’s been central to the state’s self-image for decades. Yet when that identity conflicts with global economic competitiveness, governments find ways to compromise.
The policy doesn’t undermine prohibition in Gujarat; it actually reinforces it everywhere else. By creating a small, controlled exception, the state gets to have it both ways: maintain its prohibition credentials while also competing for global business.
For visitors and professionals, it simply means: if you want a drink in Gujarat, GIFT City is now your destination. And as of December 2025, getting there and enjoying yourself just got a lot easier.
