Sri Lanka Excise Department acts against tax-evading liquor companies

The Excise Department of Sri Lanka emphasizes that steps will be taken to suspend the production activities of companies that continue to evade excise tax payments and to not extend their production licenses for the next year.

Issuing a statement regarding overdue excise taxes from liquor manufacturers, the department revealed details related to this matter.

For the year 2024, the Sri Lanka Excise Department has issued production licenses to 23 liquor manufacturing companies.

The statement issued by the department specifies that an excise tax is imposed on each of these liquor licenses.

It further mentions that institutions failing to pay the required taxes by the due dates are subject to a legal provision that imposes a 3% monthly surcharge on the outstanding tax amounts.

Accordingly, companies that failed to pay the due taxes were granted time until November 30, 2024 to settle the overdue amounts.

The Excise Department states that legal action is being pursued against the department by companies such as W. M. Mendis & Co. Ltd in Welisara, Royal Ceylon Distilleries Private Limited in Kurunegala, and McCallum Brewery Limited in Meegoda regarding the surcharge on unpaid taxes.

Future actions will depend on the outcomes of these court cases.

Furthermore, it is mentioned in the statement that steps have already been initiated to verify ownership of currently inactive companies, including Lunuwila Globe Blenders, Wayamba Spirits Limited, and Payagala Cooperative Liquor Manufacturers.

Subsequently, legal action is planned to recover the overdue taxes related to these companies.

Additionally, the Excise Department states that liquor production activities at the Valikamam Liquor Manufacturing Plant in Vankalai, located in the Northern Province, have been suspended until the outstanding excise taxes are paid.