1.39 million litres ethanol smuggled in

Govt to recover Rs 100 m in lost revenue:

Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake has instructed the authorities to initiate measures to recover more than Rs.100 million losses incurred by the government due to ethanol being smuggled into the country illegally.

The Ministry has estimated that 1.39 million litres of ethanol had been smuggled into the country illegally in 2013 and 2014.

According to the Finance Ministry, the government is losing millions in revenue as the ethanol stocks have been smuggled in as chemicals from Thailand via Vietnam. The Ministry has identified two individuals as being responsible for the bulk of ethanol smuggled into the country. There are only 27 licensed importers of ethanol in the country.