Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2017-10-10

Amendment to the Excise Ordinance to prevent the production of artificial toddy including other illicit productions of toddy

- Provision had been incorporated in the Excise Ordinance, for the requirement of a valid license to tap a toddy producing tree or to draw toddy from any toddy producing tree. However, with the amendments made subsequently to the said Ordinance, tapping or drawing toddy from Kithul, Palmyrah and Coconut trees have been exempted from the requirement of obtaining a license. It has resulted in problems related to monitoring the volume of toddy received by Distilleries, toddy taverns, bottled toddy manufactories and viniger manufactories and also a reason for the increase of other illicit toddy productions including artificial toddy.

Accordingly, the proposal made by Hon. Mangala Samaraweera, the Minister of Finance and Mass Media, to amend the Excise Ordinance declaring it mandatory to obtain a license to tap or draw toddy from any other type of tree other than Kithul in order to regulate supervision of toddy production and to publish the draft Excise (Amendment) Bill, prepared accordingly, in the government Gazette and to present the same in Parliament for approval, was approved by the Cabinet.