• Dept. says its’ permission & Rs. 15 m to State coffers needed before sale of licences  

In the wake of allegations being levelled regarding the sale of liquor permits given to Parliamentarians at a large price, the Excise Department stated that it will take measures to suspend those liquor licences if any such matter is identified by the Department.

It was reported that a number of MPs in both the Government and the Opposition have requested liquor permits, which are alleged to be sold later for amounts as large as Rs. 50 million. This comes as part of the Government’s decision to issue liquor licences under renewed criteria that will provide for the establishment of 478 new liquor shops in the country. It was also reported that a key Parliamentary Committee has commenced inquiring into the criteria adopted in the issuance and approval of licences to open liquor shops in the country, claiming that both the Government and the Opposition have sought to obtain permits under the names of their relatives or associates to be sold for a large amount.

In this context, when contacted by The Daily Morning yesterday (23), the Excise Commissioner General M.J. Gunasiri said that the Department will be exercising the relevant laws if any such incident is reported or any complaint is lodged with the Department regarding the matter. He also said that according to the Excise Ordinance, the Department will suspend all such liquor licences, stating that no liquor permit can be sold or given to another party without obtaining the permission to be granted by the Excise Department to do so. 

“However, if any party wishes to sell the liquor licence, he or she should inform the Department, obtain its permission, and pay a sum of Rs. 15 million to the Government. Without fulfilling the said conditions, no one has the authority to sell a liquor permit at their own wish once it is given to a particular party,” he said.

When he was questioned as to whether this practice had any impact on the country’s excise revenue, he noted that it would not affect the revenue as everyone should pay the relevant excise duty to the Department.