- Excise Dept. warns liquor giant to settle Rs. 1.2 b arrears by 30 Nov.
- Non-compliance could lead to manufacturing suspension, licence review
- Company falls behind on agreed tax repayment schedule for 2023
W.M. Mendis and Co. has failed to comply with the payment schedule agreed upon with the Excise Department, the department has revealed.
Accordingly, steps will be taken to suspend the operations of the liquor manufacturer if it fails to complete paying its excise taxes in arrears owed for 2023 by the end of November.
Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, Excise Department Media Coordinator Roshan Perera revealed that W.M. Mendis and Co. had not yet completed the payment of its excise taxes in arrears for 2023, noting that steps would be taken to suspend the company’s manufacturing operations if it did not complete the payment by the end of November.
“They haven’t completed paying [excise taxes in arrears]. They are still repaying. If they fail to complete the payment by 30 November, steps will be taken to suspend their manufacturing operations,” he stated.
Perera further stated that in the event the company failed to complete payment of its excise taxes in arrears by November, the Commissioner General of Excise would have to make a decision by 31 December on whether the liquor manufacturer’s excise licence would be renewed.
He also stated that W.M. Mendis and Co. had entered into an agreement with the Excise Department to pay its excise tax arrears for 2023 according to a payment schedule, which it had failed to comply with.
Despite repeated attempts by The Sunday Morning Business to contact W.M. Mendis and Co., all such attempts proved futile.
Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business earlier this year, former Excise Commissioner General M.J. Gunasiri revealed that the department had reached an agreement with W.M. Mendis and Co. under which the liquor manufacturer would complete the settlement of excise tax arrears of Rs. 1.2 billion owed for 2023 by 30 November by settling two instalments per month.