The government has increased the excise duty on alcohol and cigarettes by 20 percent.
State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya has announced the duty revision. Excise duty on a 750 ml bottle of special arrack has been raised by Rs. 206.
Duty on a 750 ml bottle of molasses, palmyrah, coconut and processed arrack has been increased by Rs. 22. Duty on a 750 ml bottle of locally manufactured foreign arrack increased by Rs. 266.
A stick of cigarettes previously sold between Rs. 60 and 100 will be increased by Rs. 12–20.
Siyambalapitiya said that in 2021, Sri Lanka had collected Rs. 249.6 billion as excise duty and VAT on tobacco and alcohol products.
The State Minister said that the excise duty had been increased to raise state revenue and discourage the consumption of the two products.
He added that Sri Lanka’s National authority on Tobacco and Alcohol had said 40,000 Sri Lankans died each year due to alcohol- and tobacco-related diseases.
(RK)