Permission granted to operate Aloysius-owned Mendis brewery

The licence of arrack distillery W.M. Mendis & Co. Ltd owned by Arjun Aloysius, which was annulled by the Excise Department for non-payment of taxes, has been granted approval to operate again, the Excise Department said.

Excise Spokesman Kapila Kumarasinghe said that permission was granted under strict conditions for the production of liquor considering several requests made by the company to resume operations.

He said the company had requested to grant them a payment schedule to settle the accumulated arrears tax payment.

Accordingly, the Finance Ministry and the Excise Department granted permission to operate the company under strict conditions, he said.

However, the spokesman said that if the company had failed to continue under the agreed conditions, the license would be cancelled again.

The production in the distillery has been suspended since January in 2018 as the company has evaded the payment of tax.

Established in the 1960s, W. M. Mendis & Co. is one of the oldest local liquor brands in the country. 

Arjun Aloysius who was arrested in 2018 in connection with the Central Bank bond scam but was later released on bail.(Darshana Sanjeewa Balasuriya)