Liquor manufacturers have objected to the Excise Department’s decision to reduce the allowable alcohol loss during production and storage from 1.5% to 0.1%.
As reported by Ada Derana, the manufacturers said the revised limit, introduced under Excise Notification No. 991 issued on July 24, would effectively require leading liquor producers, which collectively pay around Rs. 23 billion in taxes annually, to pay additional taxes.
In a written submission to the Excise Department, the companies said the new limit would make it increasingly difficult to continue production operations.
The manufacturers noted that alcohol naturally evaporates during production, storage and bottling processes, including when spirits are transferred to bottling machines, and argued that the revised allowance does not reflect actual industry conditions.
They also claimed that the reduction from the 1.5% allowance under the previous Excise Notification No. 151 was made without a proper scientific assessment, calling on the Department to conduct a practical and evidence-based study before implementing the new limit. (Newswire)