A complaint has been lodged with the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) alleging that the government has incurred a revenue loss of Rs. 115.5 million.According to the complaint by the Sri Lanka Liquor Licensees Association (SLLLA), this is due to approving 21 illegal appointments as distribution agents of Lion Brewery – one of Sri Lanka’s largest beer manufacturers.

The SLLLA charges that this approval by the bigwigs of the Excise Department, done while overriding legal procedures, has enabled the relevant 21 individuals to function as beer distributing agents without obtaining the mandatory RB-03 excise license.

2 approvals with the same reference number?

The complaint has further pointed out that under :

• Excise Notice No. 219 of the Gazette No. 7845 dated 17 April 1931 and
• Excise Notice No. 666 of the Extraordinary Gazette dated 31 December 1979

,no right or privilege relating to an excise license can be transferred to another party without proper prior approval.Despite this, it is said that Lion Brewery (Ceylon) PLC’s Chief Corporate and Regulatory Affairs Officer – Channa Senaratne has sought permission to appoint 21 agents to distribute beer products and collect money.Accordingly, the SLLLA complaint states that the then Deputy Commissioner of Excise (Legal) Channa Weerakkody had granted approval for 20 agents on June 13, 2024, which was only valid until December 31, 2024.However, the association alleges that on October 29, 2024, the same Excise official had approved another list of 21 agents under the same reference number.The complaint further notes that the Excise Department had revised the list of agents again in March 2026, after the initial approval had expired on December 31, 2024.