The Excise Department says that the news published on some media and social media that the production of liquor will be stopped after March 22, 2022 due to the shortage of ethanol is untrue.
There are 23 licensed distilleries operating in the country producing arrack and other locally and it is still possible to obtain the required raw material including ethanol from the local market, the department said in a statement.
The announcement is below.
Lanka News Web reported yesterday (08) that a national government will be formed by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna and the United National Party before the upcoming Sinhala-Tamil New Year with the participation of 15 members of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya.
Responding to this, the Leader of the Samagi Jana Balawewa, Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa stated that no one in his party would join such a national government.
“No one in the Samagi Jana Balawega wants to commit a ‘political suicide’. Therefore, it can be guaranteed that none of us will join such a national government. And the fact that India is behind this must have been a fabrication. India is a country that deals with me regularly. I can assure you that they will not do this. ” Sajith Premadasa said to LNW.
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It is reported that Padma Devi Peiris, the mother of the First Lady of Sri Lanka – Ioma Rajapaksa has passed away.
She was 89 years old at the time of her death in California, USA.
In an effort to mend fences with the Indian Government and seek financial assistance including US$1 billion loan facility Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa will be visiting India during the second half of this month after postponing it in two previous occasions, official sources confirmed.
New Delhi Authorities has not delayed the necessary arrangements for the SLFinance minister’s visit until the fulfillment of some of their conditions grant financial assistance to the island nation.
Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Dr. Harsha de Silva noted that the Central Bank has taken this decision hurriedly to float the rupee two days after Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal’s claim of the current level of rupee to the dollar is appropriate and there will not be a rupee float.
Mr Cabraal stated on Friday 05 that the Monetary Board has not taken a decision on the flexible exchange rate and therefore it will remain as it is he said
Dr. Harsha de Silva claimed that the country’s rupee had been devalued hurriedly, heeding to a demand made by Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar during his telephone conversation with the Sri Lankan Finance Minister.
This was a fulfillment of one of the conditions put forward by India to provide $ 1billion loan facility and facilitate Minister Basil Rajapaksa’s official tour of India this month, he added.
According to de Silva, Sri Lanka’s debt service needed for the next six weeks is $ 1.44 billion, which includes payments in relation to development, sovereign bonds, and other obligations which include $ 200 million development bonds and several other obligations.
The CBSL had reportedly sold $ 372.35 million in November to defend the rupee – a record high in recent years – reflecting the seriousness of the foreign currency liquidity crisis Sri Lanka is currently in.
According to the latest data, the CBSL had sold $ 372.35 million in foreign exchange and bought $ 61.71 million from the domestic foreign exchange market in November, staying as a net seller of foreign exchange for the second consecutive month.
In October, after months of being a net absorber or buyer of foreign currency from the market, the CBSL had turned to a net seller of $ 72.32 million worth of foreign currency.
Sri Lanka’s rupee had been under heavy pressure since this June, when the expected inflows to the reserves started to minimise.
The Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar has assured that India will continue to support Sri Lanka in all possible ways.
In a tweet, the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka said the Indian External Affairs Minister had a productive and cordial telephone conversation with Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa on Monday (7) evening.
It added that both sides agreed to a mutually convenient date in the second half of March for Basil Rajapaksa’s visit to India.
The Indian conditions for the granting of this loan package included several maritime security agreements that will strengthen India’s strategic interests, particularly around the eastern Trincomalee harbour.
These include Donier surveillance aircraft for the Sri Lanka Air Force, a ship repair dock for the Sri Lanka Navy in Trincomalee and posting of a Sri Lankan Navy officer at the Intelligence Fusion Centre, a Bahrain-based intelligence sharing office which is a US Navy initiative to combat international terrorism, the narcotics trade and ensure safe maritime passage for commercial vessels in the region.
One of the key pressure-points from the Indian Government is to start a renewable energy (solar power) project in and around Sampur near Trincomalee..
The reopening of the Palay airport for commercial operations and several cultural projects in the Jaffna peninsula are also among items on the list already made public.
The Indian Government also wants to enter into the renewable energy field in the Delft islet after it scuttled a Chinese company securing the project following an Asian Development Bank ((ADB) tender procedure.
Sri Lanka has recorded over 200,000 tourists so far this year led by Russians, surpassing the 194,495 received for the entirety of 2021.
It is also the highest number of tourists received post-pandemic. As per the provincial data released by the Tourism Ministry 200,798 travellers have arrived from 1 January to 6 March.
Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said despite the challenges emanating from the global COVID pandemic as well as the unrest in Eastern Europe, it was a significant achievement by Sri Lanka to be recognised as a safe and secure destination.
As per the provisional data of Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) 21,964 tourists have arrived in the country during the first six days of March. Sri Lanka received 82,327 tourists in January and 96,507 in February — the highest number of tourists visiting the country in a month after two years.
Despite the conflict, Russia continues to dominate the top source market to Sri Lanka with 31,912. However, India was the top tourist traffic to Sri Lanka for the month of March, which accounts to 4,395, followed by Russia with 3,094, Germany 2,240 and 969 from France.
“Sri Lanka is currently focusing on new tourism markets,” the Minister said, adding that attention has been drawn to a number of countries which had not previously promoted Sri Lanka as a tourist destination and special promotion programs have been planned on targeting those countries.
Ranatunga also said that the Finance Minister had recently agreed to provide $ 56 billion for the Global Communication Campaign (GCC) in the second quarter of this year.
Sri Lanka plans to allocate $56 million for tourism promotion activities in its main tourist source countries during the second quarter of 2022.
The main targets for tourism promotion include Britain, India, Russia and China, said Minister of Tourism Prasanna Ranatunga said..
He said that they have an ambitious plan to attract tourists this year and Minister of Finance Basil Rajapaksa agreed to provide 56 million dollars for the promotion.
“We will also carry out promotional activities in other countries that are potential sources of tourism. We are trying to get tourists as groups,” Ranatunga said.
The Sri Lankan government approved in 2021 a five-year global action plan to promote tourism.
The Ministry of Tourism is currently in the process of selecting an event management firm, an advertising firm and a digital partner to implement the project.So far in 2022, over 150,000 tourists have visited Sri Lanka.
In December 2021, business consultancy McKinsey & Company told an economic forum in Colombo, organized by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, that Sri Lanka may take up to five years to reach the tourist figure recorded in 2018, prior to Easter Sunday attacks in 2019 and the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country in 2020.
The government has decided to withdraw the special Goods and Services Tax (GST) aimed at simplifying the existing tax structure and consolidating several taxes as a single tax following the Supreme Court’s decision of requiring a two-third majority and referendum to enact it as a law, Finance Ministry sources said.
The Court observed that several clauses of the bill are inconsistent with some of the articles of the country’s constitution.
The Special GST consolidates several taxes on liquor, cigarettes, telecommunications, betting and gaming and vehicles. The Attorney General had cleared the draft law.
This legal issue has prompted the Finance Ministry find an option to re-introduce the SGST and one of the options is to withdraw the tax and allow the previous taxation system with some revisions to relevant taxes to continue,a senior official said
Finance ministry has convened several special meetings to arrive at a decision and it will also seek the legal opinion of the Attorney General on possible options to re-introduce SGST and devising a new bill with necessary amendments.
The Ministry has made all arrangements to set up a separate revenue collection unit at the treasury and install the computer system to collect SGST on line he said adding that it has been planned to collect additional revenue of Rs 50 billion from the new tax by law and changes to the Value Added Tax.
The Special GST was proposed to introduce one tax for various taxes imposed under multiple laws and institutions on alcohol, cigarettes, telecommunication, betting and gaming and vehicles, which accounts for 50 per cent of the income from taxes and levies, he added.
The proposed Bill accords power to the Finance Minister to make an Order on the rate of the special GST which comes into immediate effect once an Order is published in the Gazette.
The establishment of a separate unit in the Treasury under a Deputy Secretary General for the collection and accounting of the Special GST is against all administrative and financial regulations of the country as it will take over the functions of the revenue collection institutions of the state inland revenue department officials said
State-run Litro Gas Lanka Ltd has activated its emergency procurement process to avert LP Gas shortage re-emerged as local commercial banks are not opening letter of credit (LCs) to facilitate imports amid severe dollar shortage.
Sri Lanka’s cooking gas dealers (LPGas) claimed that they have already not receiving the adequate supply now.
In the past few weeks, people standing in winding queues stretching over a kilometre to buy gas has been a common sight.
In the wee hours of the mornings, people lined up outside dealers’ outlets to grab a cylinder of gas. But many went empty-handed because the dealers were supplied only a limited number of cylinders which were snatched up no sooner they arrived.
Several restaurants and eateries across the country have been forced to close down due to a shortage of gas.
Signalling a sigh of relief for consumers, three Shipments of LP Gas are now anchored at the Colombo waiting for the unloading of LP gas stocks ordered by Litro Gas Lanka Ltd
The clearing of LP GAS shipment arrived at the Colombo Port recently is now underway and Litro gas has commenced the distribution of LP gas cylinders countrywide with immediate effect, a top official of the state owned entity said.
This stock of 3600 metric tonnes of LPGas is sufficient for three days as the country’s requirement is around 1100 MT per day, he claimed.
The country’s daily requiremet is around 80000 12.5 Kg LP Gas cylinders, 15000, 05 KG cylinders and 16000 2.3 KG cylinders.
How ever Litro Gas Company has not issued these LP GAS cylinders to the local market since Febrauary 01 this year creating shortage in the country.
Laugfs Gas, Sri Lanka’s only private LP gas supplier in the duopoly market said there is only a little stock left.
“We will see a serious shortage. We have very little stock only sufficient for one or two days in the port,” W K H Wegapitya, Laugfs’ Chairman, said .
Laugfs Gas controls around 20 percent of the LP gas market in Sri Lanka while the state owned Litro supplies 80 percent.
Litro said yesterday that the company will take at least three weeks to supply gas to reach normal market levels due to tightened safety regulations for gas distributors.
The distribution delay has already led to a black market for LP gas. A 12.5 kg cylinder, which is officially priced at 2,750 rupees, is being sold around 4,500 rupees in some places, local media reported Laugfs needs on average 15-30 million US dollars per month to import gas, Wegapitya said.
On 9th of March 2022, the Personal Data Protection Bill is scheduled for the second reading in Parliament. This Bill aims to regulate the processing of personal data by identifying and strengthening the rights of data subjects – persons whose data is held by a processor or controller. However, Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) remains deeply concerned about three key areas in this Bill including the impact on certain rights and freedoms, if enacted in its current form.
The creation of a legal framework on personal data protection can be viewed as an important step in safeguarding human rights, especially at a time when information has become both a tool to be used by the people and against them.
However, TISL’s three key concerns on this Bill are as follows.:
Earlier in 2022 and in 2021, TISL officially raised these concerns with the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Technology and with all 225 Members of Parliament.
The draft framework on personal data protection which was produced in 2019 has two crucial points that could improve the current bill. The preamble of the 2019 framework specifically refers to Sri Lanka’s constitutional Right to Information as a crucial right, recognizing the need for the public interest to be balanced with the protection of personal data. The 2019 draft also called for the appointment of three members to the Government Controlled authority enforcing the bill, through a public application process. This step could be crucial to ensure that the authority remains independent.
Since it is critically important that there is a harmonious formulation of the Personal Data Protection law with other existing rights and protections in the best public interest, TISL calls on all Members of Parliament and the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Technology to not rush through the process of enacting this important law, without ensuring that these concerns are addressed.
TISL Executive Director Nadishani Perera commenting on the matter noted that “If enacted in its current form, the Data Protection Bill could become a well-meaning law which could yet be abused. The Bill could be used to create a chilling effect in the media and among whistleblowers which would be a blow to Sri Lanka’s democracy.”
Transparency International Sri Lanka
Retired Major General Palitha Fernando has been appointed as the Secretary to the newly established State Ministry of Disaster Management. The appointment letter has been handed over to Fernando by President’s Secretary Gamini Senarath.
The subject of Disaster Management was removed from the existing State Ministry of Defence, Home Affairs and Disaster Management and a new State Ministry was established at the aforementioned credentials. Wimalaweera Dissanayake served as the Minister.
MIAP
A power cut of 03 hours and 45 minutes will occur to many areas of the country tomorrow, said the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL).
Accordingly, zones A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K and L will be subject to a power cut of 03 hours and 45 minutes, having a two and a half hour power cut from 08 am to 06 pm and a power cut of 01 hour and 45 minutes from 06 pm to 11 pm, the Commission revealed.
Meanwhile zones P,Q,R,S,T and W will be subject to a three hour power cut, having a two hour power cut from 09 am to 05 pm and a one hour power cut from 05 pm to 09 pm.
MIAP
