It has been revealed before Parliament’s Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) that despite the introduction of digital security stickers to streamline tax revenue collection from liquor, the system has yet to deliver the expected increase in revenue.
The matter was raised when officials of the Excise Department were recently summoned before the committee.
CoPF Chairman Dr. Harsha de Silva said issues concerning the quality of the security stickers were causing significant tax revenue losses to the government.
“Although the cost difference of a sticker may be as little as Rs. 1.80, if a substandard or counterfeit sticker is used, the government could lose around Rs. 2,200 in tax revenue on a single bottle of liquor. Audit reports have also highlighted losses of around Rs. 2,200 per bottle due to stickers being improperly affixed or being of poor quality,” he said.
However, Excise Department officials maintained that tax revenue had recorded significant growth despite the issues surrounding the sticker system.
“For the first time in history, we were able to meet the highest tax revenue target ever assigned to us. We have now exceeded that target, recording progress of around 116%. Apart from several issues arising from the economic difficulties experienced in the recent past, we have been able to record the highest tax revenue in history,” the officials told the committee.
