Image courtesy e-thaksalawa.moe.gov.lk.
The same sugar importer who was involved in the massive sugar scam in an earlier occassion was involved in the second similar scam after the recent tax increase in sugar imports, former NPP MP Sunil Handunnetti said today.
Speaking at the Senkadagala electorate convention, he said the government increased the import tax on sugar from 25 cents to Rs. 50 last week which had allowed this particular sugar importer to earn undue profits.
He said the controversial sugar importer had imported a shipment of 8,600 MTs of sugar on October 30 just before the tax was increased and had got the stock cleared from the Customs at a tax of 25 cents per kilo.
Hadunnetti said the sugar importer was now selling the imported sugar by adding Rs. 50 following the tax increase, which had given him undue profits. He said Rs. 16 billion was defraud in the first sugar scam a few years ago and that he even filed a case in the Supreme Court against it.
Ajith Siriwardana KANDY (Daily Mirror)