Unauthorised spirit production up by 300%
‘Local brew producers cheated even the British’
A century-old practice of tax evasion by liquor producers had reached a new level in recent months, State Finance Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said on Friday.Addressing the Annual General Meeting of the Sri Lanka Excise Officers’ Association, in Colombo, the Minister said the production of unlicensed liquor had increased by 300%.
“Do not misunderstand this illicit liquor production with distilling moonshine by villagers in shrub forests and near water streams. The unlicensed liquor production is done by rich businessmen in three-piece suits. They have liquor producing licences and submit false figures. They pay taxes only for the figures they maintain in their books and thereby cheat tax collectors. They produce much more liquor than the amounts stated by the permits they hold. This is a century-old method. The British, who controlled the Maritime Provinces, received around 7.6 percent of their
total revenue from excise taxes and duties. In 1810, the British government had received a revenue of 268,700 Rix-dollars from the Maritime Provinces under their control. Of that amount, 20,500 Rix-dollars were from excise taxes. The actual excise revenue should be more than this, as per the then Revenue Commissioner. The British Revenue Commissioner stated that local liquor producers produced much more than the amount they maintained in their books and cheated the then government. Now, the century-old illicit liquor production has increased by 300 percent,” the Minister said.
“It indicates that not even the white man could collect the due excise revenue properly,” the Minister said, adding that as per a WHO report there had been a 95 percent increase in the output of the liquor manufacturing industry in Sri Lanka from 2004 to 2016. However, the books maintained by the producers show only a 50 percent increase during the same period. Excise Commissioner General MJ Gunasiri was also present at the meeting.
