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| Sunday, 12 June 2005 |
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Business |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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LTTE 'taxes' on pharmaceuticals, a setback Hemas, distributors of popular consumer products and pharmaceuticals, acknowledged last week that their wholesale distributors had to pay 5 to 7 percent commission to the LTTE before they could pass through with their products to be sold to retail outlets in the north and east. "Although Jaffna is a cleared area, the problem is the same; our distributor has to pay "taxes" on the way through the A9 highway," director, D Bhatnagar said. The distributors in turn charge the taxes paid to the LTTE from the retailers and the retailers pass on the tax to the consumer. Notwithstanding the high cost-of-living, the LTTE collects revenue from the wholesalers and distributors operating in the north and east of the island. This has lead to a further rise in the cost-of-living in these areas. In Batticaloa, we found a particular brand of local beer on sale. The distributor admitted that they had to pay "a very large sum of money," to the former LTTE area leader of Batticaloa "for their distribution rights." EL |
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