One of the three main revenue-generating arms of the country and the competent authority regulating the liquor industry, the Excise Department of Sri Lanka has earned a record revenue of Rs.61 billion during the first quarter of this year.

The department comes third amidst the revenue-generating arms of the Department of Inland Revenue and Sri Lanka Customs functioning under the Ministry of Finance and has been given a revenue target of Rs.242 billion for 2025.

From this target the department has earned Rs.61.3 billion (Rs.61,300,000,000) from the countrywide sales of liquor during the months of January, February and March. The target for the first quarter from the annual target was Rs.42 billion.

The Excise Chief U. L. Udaya Kumara told the Daily Mirror this was a progress of 127% and commended the entire staff of the department for their sheer dedication and commitment to achieve the remarkable target.

Measures taken by the department to introduce a security sticker on the bottle caps had also immensely helped to increase revenue by discouraging counterfeit liquor from entering the market, he further said.