License of companies involved in liquor racket to be revoked

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Committee on Ways and Means has recommended that the Department of Excise revoke the licenses of the liquor manufacturing companies that are involved in the racket of using fake stickers on liquor bottles.

The recommendation was made when the committee convened on Thursday (07), chaired by MP Patali Champika Ranawaka.

The committee ordered to report the fake stickers to the Criminal Investigation Department.

The Committee on Ways and Means also issued orders to cancel the licenses of shops selling liquor bottles with fake stickers.

Excise Department officials informed the committee that more than 44,000 bottles of alcohol were found with fake stickers, and a fine of nearly Rs.40 million was charged from each of the companies involved.

The committee advised that a mobile application based on QR technology should be introduced to identify the authenticity of liquor bottles.

The Department of Communication of Parliament issued a statement stating that the Committee on Ways and Means also advised to cancel the licenses of factories that fail to pay taxes, according to the plan to pay tax arrears of Rs.6 billion, by the 30th of October.