Senior officials at the Ministry of Finance say they were unaware of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s announcement in Parliament on Thursday (7) regarding the introduction of a new tax on ethanol produced from maize.
The proposed levy, revealed by the President as part of broader efforts to regulate the sugar and ethanol sectors, appears to have caught key figures in the Finance Ministry off guard.
According to The Sunday Morning, three Assistant Directors General of the Department of Trade and Investment Policies, the Assistant Director (Excise) of the Department of Fiscal Policy, both Deputy Secretaries to the Treasury, and Deputy Minister of Food Security R.M. Jayawardana all denied knowledge of any strategy related to the measure when contacted.
In his parliamentary address, President Dissanayake cited concerns over sugar price hikes, inefficiencies in the domestic sugar industry, and the need to ensure fiscal sustainability.
He criticised companies that had failed to meet their tax and financial obligations despite receiving subsidies.
Turning to ethanol, the President highlighted disparities in the production costs of ethanol derived from different raw materials, stating that ethanol from maize would be subject to new tax measures under review.
“There is a need to design a proper strategy, particularly considering that it takes 2.8 kg of maize to produce one litre of ethanol,” he said.
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