Sri Lanka raises hard alcohol, beer taxes

July 31, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has raised taxes on hard alcohol by 75 rupees a litre and beer by 10 rupees per litre along with cigarettes which will help keep revenue targets on track, an official said. The mid-year tax hike will not bring in additional revenue above budget projections but simply keep targets on track, he said.

The price of a bottle of arrack (which has a little over 30 percent alcohol) is expected to go up by about 25 to 30 rupees as a result of the new excise duty.

Deputy Treasury Secretary S R Attygalle said today’s measures will bring in 2.
5 billion rupees in revenue to help keep to targets established in the budget last November.

Sri Lanka also raised the excise duty on cigarettes today, triggering a 2 and 3 rupee increase in a stick based on the length.