Excise Commissioner General M.J. Gunasiri yesterday strongly denied claims that politicians have been issued excise licences.
The Commissioner General stressed that so far no politician has made a request for a liquor permit.
He said this while replying to our inquiry regarding allegations that the Government is giving liquor licences to woo members of the Opposition targeting the Presidential Election to be held on September 21.
“We issue excise licences in fulfillment of a duty legally assigned to us. Licensing is done with complete transparency. None of us can issue excise licences outside the law. Critics should understand this,” he said.
Gunasiri said his department issue licences under Excise Notification 902 and Excise Notification 2/2024.
While noting that the department is 110 years old, he said after 15 years, the Government decided to increase the license fees. “It was also decided to increase the number of government licensed shops. All these things were done on a scientific basis,” he added.
Gunasiri said for the first time in history, it was decided to charge a large amount as a one-time fee when issuing licences.
“It was decided to charge Rs. 15 million for a licensed liquor shop established within a Municipal Council area, Rs. 12.5 million for a shop in an Urban Council area and Rs. 10 million if it is in a Pradeshiya Sabha area,” he added.
He said the Government through this expected to raise an income of Rs. 2,000 million for this year and so far the department has collected Rs. 1,750 million.
Explaining the procedure regarding the issuance of new licences, he said, “The population of the country has increased. There has been a great expansion in the tourism industry. The sale of illicit liquor has increased. Due to these factors there was a recommendation that licensed liquor stores should be increased. For example, some districts do not have even one licensed liquor store. That’s why this decision was taken.”
He also said, “There are three main agencies that collect revenue for the government. They are the Inland Revenue Department, Sri Lanka Customs, and the Excise Department. Our revenue target for this year is Rs. 232 billion. It is an increase of Rs. 53 billion over last year. A 29.6 percent increase if taken as a percentage. We are achieving these goals. There is a shortage of 429 officers. Despite this, we have achieved our revenue targets. Those who criticize us must know this. The tax revenue collected by the government is spent for public welfare and development of the country. Our aim is to collect revenue for the government,” he added.
