Sri Lanka’s high alcohol taxes are pushing consumers, already impacted by the economic crisis, toward illegal and dangerous alternatives, warns Harry Jayewardena, the Chairman of Distilleries Corporation of Sri Lanka (DCSL). The company has reported a decline in sales over the past year due to the rising costs of legal alcohol products. In the DCSL
Sri Lanka is witnessing the return of long queues, this time outside the Department of Immigration and Emigration, due to a shortage of passport books. The government’s failure to supply enough passports has sparked a scenario reminiscent of the 2022 economic crisis when long queues formed for essential items like fuel, cooking gas, and medicine.
Sri Lanka’s state-owned sugar companies are facing a significant challenge with unsold ethanol, as demand for legal alcohol has plummeted following the country’s economic crisis and recent tax increases, according to State Minister for Investment Promotion Dilum Amunugama. State-run Lanka Sugar, which operates the Sevenagala and Pelwatte companies, is now burdened with 1.3 million litres
Asian Development Bank (ADB) Country Director for Sri Lanka, Takafumi Kadono, recently visited ADB-aided small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Kandy. Kadono expressed his admiration for the success of these projects and committed to providing further support for Sri Lankan SMEs. The ADB has successfully completed the disbursement of the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Line
Sri Lanka will provide interest relief for pawn advances up to Rs. 100,000, as announced by Cabinet Spokesperson Minister Bandula Gunawardena. This measure is aimed at assisting low-income families struggling with high interest rates on pawning advances. The Cabinet has approved a program through the General Treasury to grant interest relief of up to 10%
More than 135,000 beneficiaries of Sri Lanka’s Aswesuma poverty alleviation program cannot receive their monthly payments due to not having bank accounts, a top government official has stated. Although the government has approved 1.8 million households as Aswesuma beneficiaries from last year’s applicants, around 200,000 beneficiaries have not received any benefits, according to the official.
Sri Lanka Customs (SLC) aims to surpass last year’s revenue of Rs. 970 billion in 2024, targeting Rs. 1.5 trillion due to increased Value Added Tax (VAT) and lifted import restrictions in October 2023. China has pledged financial support and the adoption of new technology to improve SLC operations. Addressing a gathering at the Sri
The Sectoral Oversight Committee on Alleviating the Impact of the Economic Crisis has emphasized the need to foster entrepreneurship and has instructed officials to organize awareness programs across all districts in Sri Lanka. This recommendation emerged during a recent committee meeting in Parliament, chaired by Member of Parliament Gamini Waleboda. The committee inquired about the