(Lanka-e-News -07.Dec.2024, 11.00 PM) The Excise Department sealed the Mendis Distillery last Thursday due to long-standing non-payment of excise taxes. Arjun Aloysius, the chairman of Mendis Distillery, along with several members of the board of directors, are currently serving prison sentences for failing to pay these taxes.
The company owes Rs. 5.7 billion in excise taxes and a 3% surcharge, which it has failed to pay. As a result, under the provisions of the Excise Ordinance, the Commissioner General of Excise ordered the suspension of the company’s liquor production license effective Thursday (5).
An appeal filed by Mendis Distillery to nullify this order was dismissed by the Court of Appeal Wednesday (4). Following this decision, teams from the Excise Department, including officers from Ja-Ela and Gampaha, conducted inspections at the facility for over six hours before officially sealing it.
From today onward, all production and distribution activities of Mendis Distillery are suspended.
In line with government policy, liquor production licenses for companies with outstanding excise taxes have been suspended since November 30. For 2023, licenses were issued to 23 liquor manufacturing companies. Except for three, all companies settled their outstanding excise dues before the November 30 deadline.
In addition to Mendis Distillery in Welisara, two other companies—Royal Ceylon Distilleries in Kurunegala and McCallum Brewery in Meegoda—have also failed to pay their taxes. Moreover, liquor production at the Walikamam Distillery in Vavuniya, located in the Northern Province, has been halted until outstanding excise taxes are settled.t
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by (2024-12-08 01:26:24)
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