Excise revenue from alcohol loses flavour as prices get high

Monday, 3 October 2022 03:36 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Department of Excise has seen in its revenue dip as price hikes hit consumption of legal alcohol products.

For 2022, the Department of Excise listed a revenue target of Rs. 185 billion from alcohol products, and by July this year had recorded Rs. 90 billion in income.

However, since then there has been a further significant drop in sales that has impacted revenue collection Commissioner General of Excise M.G. Gunasiri had told industry representatives last Friday during a meeting. Alcohol industry representatives too had outlined that it was difficult to achieve production and revenue targets for this year, as consumer purchasing power has been significantly impacted by the cost-of-living rise.

Excise revenue...

The twin hike in the rate VAT, the new Social Security Levy and burgeoning operations costs due to fuel and ethanol costs were also cited as reasons.

Concerns were also raised on consumers switching to illicit alcohol, as the price of legal products skyrocketed. Sri Lanka has one of the highest per capita consumption of alcohol, with the majority of consumption being illicit, reports the World Health Organisation.

Commissioner General of Excise Gunasiri had stated that the recently introduced security sticker could help reduce illicit alcohol, but this does not take into account the hundreds of illicit liquor dens that operate around the country.

Fags, booze become costlier

Rare price cut on petrol

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event including Valentine ’s Day. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Flower Bouquets, Clothing, Watches, Lingerie, Gift Sets and Jewellery. Also if you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.