diff --git a/main/packages.sh b/main/packages.sh
index 2c9ecc3..5b5523d 100755
--- a/main/packages.sh
+++ b/main/packages.sh
@@ -15,11 +15,6 @@ EXCLUDED_PACKAGES=($(jq -r "[(.all.exclude | (.all, select(.\"$IMAGE_NAME\" != n
                              | sort | unique[]" /tmp/packages.json))
 
 
-# ensure exclusion list only contains packages already present on image
-if [[ "${#EXCLUDED_PACKAGES[@]}" -gt 0 ]]; then
-    EXCLUDED_PACKAGES=($(rpm -qa --queryformat='%{NAME} ' ${EXCLUDED_PACKAGES[@]}))
-fi
-
 # ensure exclusion list only contains packages already present on image
 if [[ "${#EXCLUDED_PACKAGES[@]}" -gt 0 ]]; then
     EXCLUDED_PACKAGES=($(rpm -qa --queryformat='%{NAME} ' ${EXCLUDED_PACKAGES[@]}))