COPA flays Excise Dept. for leniency towards errant liquor companies

By Saman Indrajith

A probe conducted by the Parliament Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) has revealed that the Excise Department released three liquor producing companies found guilty of using counterfeit stickers on their bottles of liquor after imposing spot fines on them.

The COPA investigation also found that the three companies had not paid excise duties amounting to Rs 6.6 billion.

COPA Chairman State Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna asked Excise officers who were present at the inquiry held in the Parliamentary complex what action the latter had taken to recover the duties. The companies had been given time until 30 Oct, 2023 to settle their dues.

Asked whether the law provided for the cancellation of the licences of such errant companies, the Excise officers responded that there were provisions for that purpose but they relied on other provisions in the same Excise Act to impose fines rather than cancelling the licences.

Among those present were the COPA members MPs Chamara Sampath, Suresh Raghawan, Jayantha Ketagoda and Weerasumana Weerasinghe, sources said.