UNP bred imbibers

Parliamentary Corr

Finance and Planning Deputy Minister Githanjana Gunawardena told Parliament yesterday the people were given the opportunity for easy access to liquor resulting in an increase in liquor consumption following a gazette notification issued in 2003 during the UNP regime.

The gazette was issued by former Finance Minister K N Choksy allowing liquor to be sold in places such as super markets and department stores. The Deputy Minister noted that due to this initiative people who went to super markets to buy normal goods also ended up buying liquor. He also noted that the government has not issued any new licence to open liquor shops in the country under the present regime.

Even though, over 1,160,000 litres of beer and over 2,173,000 litres of hard liquor were imported in 2003, the imports have decreased to about 246,500 litres of beer, and about 550,000 litres of hard liquor in 2009. The Excise Department and police have seized over 5,640,000 litres of illicit liquor during 2009.

The Government had earned Rs 26 million from beer and Rs 257 million as revenue from import taxes from hard liquor in 2009.

The total revenue earned by the government as taxes imposed on local production of beer and hard liquor in 2009 is Rs 28,254 million.

The Deputy Minister was responding to a question raised by UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake.

The Deputy Minister said the tourism industry has a remarkable boom after the elimination of terrorism and the imports involved in the tourism industry has changed.

He also added the consumer behaviour of the people in the North and East has also changed after the elimination of terrorism. The government in studying the changes of the consumer behaviours after these development.