Is Hydrocodone legal in India?

Legal status

Controlled in India, but not under this name: it is not named in the Act's Schedule, and the matched entry that carries it reads «Dihydrocodeinone (commonly known as Hydrocodone), its salts (such as Dicodide, Codinovo, Diconone, Hycodan, Multacodin, Nyodide, Ydroced and the like) and its esters and salts of its esters, and preparations, admixtures, extracts or other substances containing any of these drugs», in S.O. 1181(E) of 5 May 2015.

Consequences if caught

Section 21 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985, the NDPS Act, punishes a contravention in relation to manufactured drugs and preparations in three quantity bands. A small quantity carries rigorous imprisonment which may extend to 1 year. A quantity greater than small but less than commercial carries rigorous imprisonment which may extend to 10 years. A commercial quantity carries rigorous imprisonment of 10 to 20 years, and that lower figure is a statutory minimum rather than a starting point. The fine runs with the band: up to 10,000 rupees at small quantity, up to 1 lakh rupees in the middle band, and 1 lakh to 2 lakh rupees at commercial quantity, and the court may record reasons for a higher fine. Section 27 punishes consumption, with rigorous imprisonment up to 1 year and a fine up to 20,000 rupees for cocaine, morphine, diacetylmorphine and any substance notified in that behalf, and imprisonment up to 6 months and a fine up to 10,000 rupees for anything else. Every offence under the Act is cognizable, but the section 37 bail bar reaches only sections 19, 24 and 27A and offences involving a commercial quantity. Section 31 raises the ceiling to one and one half times after a previous conviction, and section 64A gives an addict charged under section 27 or with a small quantity immunity on completing recognised de-addiction treatment. The band for this row is set by the small and commercial quantity notification at serial 57: a small quantity is 1 g and a commercial quantity is 20 g. Note 4 of that notification applies the figure to the entire mixture or solution in dosage form and not to the pure drug content, so packaging weight and cutting agents count toward the band. Section 31A does not reach this row: its table names only opium, morphine, heroin, codeine, thebaine, cocaine, hashish, LSD, the listed THC isomers, methamphetamine, methaqualone and amphetamine, with their salts and preparations, and this row is not among them. A hydrocodone cough syrup is a preparation containing the drug, and note 4 measures the syrup and not the hydrocodone in it, so a single large bottle can pass the 20 g commercial line. Those figures are given because they describe the offences that this row's placement brings into play.

If prescribed or medical

It is an essential narcotic drug; a cough syrup or tablet containing it should travel with the prescription and the original packaging and be declared at customs.

Documentation

Its thresholds are the tightest of the six essential narcotic drugs apart from fentanyl, 1 g and 20 g, and a cough syrup is a preparation containing the drug. India's essential narcotic drugs for medical and scientific use, notified under section 2(viiia) by S.O. 1181(E) of 5 May 2015, are codeine, fentanyl, hydrocodone, methadone, morphine and oxycodone; a traveller carrying one should carry the prescription with the original packaging, bring only a reasonable personal quantity and declare it at customs. Tramadol was added to the Act's psychotropic Schedule in 2018 and its commercial quantity is 250 g. This reading is stated as at the Central Bureau of Narcotics consolidation of the Act and Rules labelled updated 2026, which prints the Schedule as amended through S.O. 1730(E) of 16 April 2025, read with S.O. 906(E) of 18 February 2026, and it does not rule out a later notification.

Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with India’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.