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Four liquor licenses exempted from levy

26 Jan 2021

By Pamodi Waravita   The fee for four types of liquor licenses will not be levied for this year (2021) as a relief measure afforded to the tourism sector, according to the Excise Deputy Commissioner (Supply Chain Regulation and Information Technology) R.M. Rathnayake. Speaking to The Morning yesterday (25), Rathnayake said that the fee of the licenses, which fall under the four categories of FL 7 (Hotel License), FL 8 (Hotel Bar License), FL 11 (Restaurant License), and FL 22 B (Beer, Ale, Stout, and Wine License for consumption in the premises) would not be charged for this year so as to provide relief for the tourism sector, which suffered dire economic losses as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. “These four categories of licenses are directly related to the tourism industry, and as such would grant much needed concessions to businesses,” said Rathnayake. As a result of this relief measure, the Divisional Secretariats have been instructed to not collect the fee, added Rathnayake. The Hotel Association of Sri Lanka (THASL) Vice-Chairperson Amal Goonathileke confirmed to The Morning that all accommodation units registered with the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) would be exempted from the charges for the aforementioned licenses for this year. “We are very grateful to the Government for granting this big concession to the industry,” said Goonathileke. When contacted regarding the stance of Finance Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa regarding the matter, both Treasury Secretary S.R. Attygalle, and Department of Fiscal Policy Director Kapila Senanayake were unavailable for comment.


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