NDPS Commercial Quantity
Definition
Threshold under the NDPS Act 1985 above which the offence attracts 10 to 20 years rigorous imprisonment and a Section 37 bail bar. Examples: heroin 250 g, cocaine 100 g, ganja 20 kg, charas 1 kg.
- Statute
- NDPS Act 1985, India
- Penalty range
- 10 to 20 years rigorous imprisonment
- Bail provision
- Section 37 bail bar
- Heroin threshold
- 250 g
- Cocaine threshold
- 100 g
Common questions
Why does the exact quantity found matter so much under NDPS?+
The Act uses quantity bands, small, intermediate, and commercial, to set the charge and sentencing range, so a gram-level difference in the FSL-quantified drug content can move a case from a bailable, lightly punished offence to one facing a mandatory bail bar and a decade-plus sentence.
Does commercial quantity mean the accused was necessarily trafficking?+
The Act treats crossing the commercial quantity threshold as attracting the harsher sentencing band regardless of proven trafficking intent, though courts weigh other case circumstances, so the threshold is a legal quantity trigger rather than direct proof of a trafficking operation on its own.
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