Sri Lanka’s cabinet has approved a proposal to call international competitive bids for the supply of security stamps used on foreign liquor, locally bottled foreign liquor and locally manufactured liquor, ahead of the existing contract’s expiry on January 1, 2027.
Mandatory security markings on all imported, locally produced and locally bottled foreign liquor were introduced under the Excise (Amendment) Act No. 26 of 2018, with operational rules set out in Extraordinary Gazette No. 2249/50 of October 2021. The tamper-seal regime was designed to curb evasion of excise duty and trade in counterfeit liquor.
The new five-year contract will cover both the physical security signage and the management of the underlying data system used by the Sri Lanka Excise Department, the government said.
EconomyNext reported the cabinet decision on Tuesday afternoon. Bids will be solicited under the international competitive bidding process, opening the contract to overseas vendors at a time when the government is seeking to tighten excise revenue collection as part of its fiscal consolidation programme.
