Excise revenue up in first five months

by Walter LIYANARACHCHI

The excise revenue to State coffers during the first five months of 2010 recorded Rs. 14,256 million compared to Rs. 11,938 million during the corresponding period last year.

Commissioner General of Excise D.G.M.V. Hapuarachchi told Sunday Observer that a strong network is in place to combat illicit liquor and other offences under Excuse Regulations to generate more revenue in the near future.

Deputy Commissioner General of Excise A. Bodaragama said that the Department needs more efficient officers to deal with offenders. However, the Department needs more staff and vehicles for the purpose. Steps have been taken to renovate the Excise Department offices in the Northern Province which had been destroyed by the LTTE. The offices will be reopened in the near future but the problem is recruiting Tamil personnel to man these branches, he said.

There were 43,478 detections last year. The suspects were produced in courts and almost all prosecutions were successful. During last year 4003 liquor licence holders were taken to task for violating licence requirements. This included night clubs, karaoke bars and casinos, an official said.

The illegal liquor trade includes the manufacture, sale and possession of over 10 bottles of liquor. Most of the cases were reported from Wayamba (9,885) last year.