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Excise Dept. targets Rs. 160 b revenue 

21 Mar 2021

  • Rs. 123.52 b achieved in excise revenue last year

  • 5,095 new liquor licenses and renewals in 2021

  The Department of Excise has set a fresh excise revenue target of Rs. 160 billion this year, after achieving excise revenue of Rs. 123.52 billion amidst disruptions and setbacks caused by the prevailing pandemic, The Sunday Morning Business learns.  Excise Deputy Commissioner R.M. Ratnayake told us that the Department is also set to issue 5,095 liquor licenses this year, both in terms of renewals and new issuances. Further, the Department had issued 4,954 renewed liquor licenses last year. Meanwhile, upon a request made by hoteliers in the country, the Sri Lankan Government waived off the annual fee for hotel liquor licenses for 2021. The Hotel Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) had made this request from the Department of Excise recently, as hotel liquor licenses have to be renewed for the upcoming fiscal year (2021) before the end of the current fiscal year (2020).  However, amidst disruptions caused to the local hotel sector by Covid-19, paying the hotel liquor license annual fee proved an added burden to hoteliers; THASL President Sanath Ukwatte told The Sunday Morning Business earlier this year. “In 2020, we had no business since March. Hotels certainly do not have the financial capacity to pay the annual hotel liquor license renewal fee at the moment,” Ukwatte stated. The Excise Department issues 45 different types of licenses based on the type of business. License fees are fixed for each type, and in certain categories, subsidiary licenses are issued free of charge. A fee of Rs. 7,500 is levied for a non-refundable application. Excise licenses are renewed for periods of three years, and the license holder can opt to renew them annually. According to the Excise Notification No. 983 in the Excise Ordinance, the annual license fee of the Distillery License, except palmyrah, is Rs. 100 million, while the manufacturer’s wholesale arrack/beer/foreign liquor outlet license, toddy bottling license, wholesale license for liquor, supermarket liquor license, and Tourist Board-approved hotel license for hotels with over 200 rooms are Rs. 1 million each. By the end of 2018, the Department of Excise had issued about 705 hotel licenses and 862 hotel bar licenses.

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