Sale of imported liquor prohibited unless foolproof sticker is used

The sale of imported liquor will be banned in future unless importers implement the use of a foolproof sticker issued by the Excise Department, the Finance Ministry said describing it as a move which is expected to increase government revenue.

This regulation had come into effect in line with a gazette published on June 20 by Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera last month.

Issuing a press release, the Finance Ministry stressed that the possession, transportation, storage, and the sale of imported liquor without the sticker would be considered unlawful.

This regulation is expected to be applied across foreign and local liquor manufactured in the country as well in the near future, the Ministry said.

Companies which import foreign liquor for duty-free shops are required to paste the sticker on the bottles before clearing them from the Customs warehouses.

Statistics from the Finance Ministry have shown that there are 23 importers of foreign liquor while two companies import foreign liquor for duty-free shops at airports.

There are 23 licensed alcohol manufacturing factories and 14 spirit distillery plants in addition to 4000 licensed liquor sales outlets throughout the country.

This regulation is expected to generate Rs 130 billion in revenue this year once implemented fully, the Ministry noted, adding it would also help to prevent the sale of substandard and adulterated liquor.

The Excise Department has earned a revenue of Rs 67 billion so far this year, the Ministry said quoting the Commissioner-General of the Department.

Meanwhile, the Excise Department will introduce a new mobile app which would allow consumers to verify the authenticity of the sticker.

(The foolproof sticker which would have to be pasted on all imported liquor bottles is as follows)