Licenses will be issued to coconut and palmyrah toddy tappers under the proposed amendment to Section 15 (Chapter 52) of the Excise Ordinance in order to impose adequate excise duty, the Finance and Mass Media Ministry said.
The Cabinet of Ministers approved to the above amendment, proposed by the Finance and Mass Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera.
The current license was issued under the Amendment made in 2013, exempting toddy tapping from Kithul, Palmyrah and Coconut.
With this, determining the volume of liquor produced from toddy by distilleries has become difficult for the Excise Department, in order to collect excise duty.
However toddy tapping from the Kithul tree has been exempted from the provision of the licensing requirement.
Accordingly, the new amendment bans lowering or drawing toddy from coconut or palmyrah trees, without a license issued by the Excise Department or by respective Divisional Secretaries.