Consumption of illicit liquor in Sri Lanka has risen by 500 per cent, whereas it is only a 50 pc increase for the legitimately-produced alcohol.
At present, 4,570 liquor stalls operate under 25 license categories.
Of them, 538 are for soft liquor sales.
An excise levy of 75 pc is charged per bottle, with a safety sticker introduced to prevent the selling of illicit alcohol.
However, around 100,000 liquor bottles with fake safety stickers have so far been seized.
As many as 43,776 of them are 180 ml quart bottles.
Finance state minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya gave the above details in answer to a question raised in parliament by opposition leader Sajith Premadasa.
In Nuwara Eliya, one liquor stall serves 6,809 people, but in Mullaitivu it is as high as 990,000 people.
