The Excise Department’s 2022 revenue received so far is equal to the excise revenue received in 2021 despite many challenges such as rising raw material prices, fuel shortages and lockdowns.
In 2021, the revenue of the Excise Department was Rs.139 billion.
Excise Commissioner General M.J. Gunasiri said that it is a pleasure to be able to meet the expected revenue target within the first 11 months of this year.
Accordingly, he said the target of excise revenue of Rs.165 billion will be achieved by the end of 2022.
The Commissioner General said that the prevention of revenue leakage through the programme commenced on January 3 this year to affix stickers on bottles of local and foreign liquor was a key reason to raise the revenue quickly.
He also said that a few officers in the department made many attempts to disrupt this programme, but due to the commendable work of the majority of officers who work with great dedication and responsibility, they were able to increase the income.
Main factors that have contributed to the decrease in the demand of liquor since the beginning of 2022 include higher price of raw materials required for alcohol production including ethanol, shortage of fuel, the lockdowns, the widening of the gap between the income and expenditure of the people, inflation, the imposition of VAT, the imposition of social security taxes and constant alcohol price hikes.
Accordingly, there is a 40% decrease in demand compared to the previous year.
