Retail licences for liquor manufacturers cost State coffers dear – Dayasiri

The State coffers would not be able rake in what it was due to it by way of excise duty as long as liquor producers continued to hold licences for retail sale of liquor, Parliament was told.

Dissident SLPP MP and SLFP General Secretary, Dayasiri Jayasekera, participating in the debate on the Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill, on Friday, said that a large number of liquor-producing licence holders also had licences for

running liquor outlets. “Some of them own five to six bars. This is illegal as per the provisions of the Excise Ordinance. But they continue to produce and sell the liquor in their own outlets. They run the business from factory to bar without facing any difficulty and submit false figures to the Excise Department I have a list of names of the liquor producers who have bar licenses. Among them are the IDL, East India Retailing Pvt Ltd, Manori Lanka Pvt Ltd etc. As I have no time to read the entire list, I hope to table this list.

“I think there are Excise officers in the Officials’ Box in the House right now. Even if they are not there, it is the duty of the Finance Ministry to probe this illegal business. These liquor producers have deprived the government coffers of a massive sum of money in this manner. It is illegal for the licensed liquor producers to have licences for retail trade. The Excise Department or the Finance Ministry must probe this and put an end to this illegal practice.”