Excise revenue for 2004 tops Rs. 13.8 billion

by Anjana Samarasinghe

The Excise Department recorded around Rs 13.88 billion revenue from liquor and tobacco in 2004. It was nearly Rs 11.06 billion in the previous year.

According to Excise Commissioner D.G.M.V Hapuarachchi arrack netted Rs.12,446 million against Rs.10,085 million a year earlier. He also said that beer excise brought in Rs.1,402 million to the government's coffers up from Rs.451 million the previous year.

Hapuarachchi said Tobacco too brought in sustainable revenue of Rs 34 million last year and it was a 6 percent increment from 2003. We have issued 20 licences in 2004 for arrack manufacturing and three-brewery licences in the same year.

Sri Lanka manufactured 34,568,427 proof liters of arrack in 2004 while it was 32,057,141 in 2003. Total beer production was 48,394,870 bulk liters in last year and it declined by 4,76,739 bulk liters in the previous year.

The total tobacco production recorded as 29, 820,657 kg in 2003 and increased by 4840461kg last year.