New liquor licenses based on population and tourist arrivals

Colombo, May 21 (Daily Mirror) - New liquor licenses are awarded only on the basis of factors such as the population of the country and the arrival of tourists, Finance State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said.

He made this comment to a question by a journalist at an event held in Karawanella last evening. He denied that the government intends to transfer 55 out of 100 liquor licenses belonging to Sathosa outlets and to other companies owned by Arjun Aloysius.

Minister Siyambalapitiya said no other government had collected taxes from liquor companies which had such an impact and also levied such a systematically. He said that no request has been made to give the liquor licenses belonging to Sathosa and that even if such requests are made, it is not possible to lease the liquor licenses to another person. 

He said the price of alcohol has increased by 108% due to taxes in 2003 alone, and accordingly, the government will not increase the legal consumption of alcohol at any time.

The Minister also mentioned that the annual fee charged for all liquor licenses has been increased by ten folds, and accordingly, the government is working to reduce the growth of illegal alcohol and is also discouraging the use of legal alcohol.