Liquor with fake stickers found in many bars – MP Pathirana
Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Matara District MP Buddhika Pathirana said in Parliament yesterday (23) that liquor bottles with fake stickers printed on them have been found in more than hundred bars across the country.
The MP said that these fake stickers have been found from Jaffna, Nuwara Eliya, Galle, Ratnapura and other districts and these stickers have been distributed from a place in the Gampaha district. MP Pathirana mentioned this while asking a question to the Finance Minister regarding these stickers.
MP Pathirana further said that these fake stickers have been caught in the districts of Jaffna, Nuwara Eliya, Galle and Ratnapura. Like fake money. These stickers have been distributed from a house, 52/15 Dolarosa Road, South Pallansena, Kochchikade in the Gampaha District.
“We need to find out who owns this house. Excise Officer Sumith, who went to look for a similar incident in Pasikudah made a telephone call to the Assistant Excise Commissioner and brought him back. Who brings Additional Excise Commissioner General (Revenue) Kapila Kumarasinghe. Then in 2004, an officer called Alphonso Russell Lambert was accused in a bribery case with Kapila Kumarasinghe. This person is still working as an Excise Officer. His home address is what I mentioned earlier.
The MP question whether the State Minister is going to conduct an investigation with regard to this claiming that he has clearly mentioned the past and present situation of the incident and he urged the Minister not to be a victim of these past crimes.
Meanwhile, Finance State Minister Dr. Ranjith Siyambalapitiya told Parliament yesterday that the counterfeit stickers substituted on alcohol bottle stoppers, found in various locations in the country have been forwarded to the Government Analyst for investigations.
The State minister said that he is ready to punish all the parties involved in the incident regardless of rank.
Minister Siyambalapitiya said this while responding to questions in parliament regarding this issue. According to a 2016 budget proposals, this sticker system was implemented to block the sale of alcohol by ‘liquor-tax’ dodging licensed firms. As a result, excise revenue in 2021 increased by Rs.19 bn compared to the previous year, the State minister said.
The State Minister also said that the production of alcohol also achieved an increase of 11 percent.
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