Sri Lanka, March 15 -- Officials from the Ministry of Finance presented the steps taken to increase excise duty on cigarettes before the Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) under the Order under Section 3 of the Excise (Special Provisions) Act, No. 13 of 1989.

The presentation was made during the Committee on Public Finance meeting held on March 11, 2025, in Parliament, chaired by MP (Dr.) Harsha de Silva, according to the Parliamentary Communications Department.

The Committee stated that the increase in excise duty on cigarettes could not be approved without concrete data and emphasized the need for justification regarding the steps taken to increase the excise duty, as discussed in the previous Committee meeting.

It was also pointed o...